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Ethereum treasury companies Bitmine and Sharplink continue to advance their ETH strategy amid the current crypto market downtrend. Bitmine, in particular, continues to accumulate ETH at a steady pace, with the company close to its goal of holding 5% of the token’s supply.
Ethereum Treasury Company Bitmine Adds More ETH
In a press release, Bitmine revealed that they bought 60,976 ETH last week and now holds a total of 4.535 million ETH worth around $8.91 billion. The Ethereum treasury company has also staked just over 3 million of these tokens to generate yields on its holdings. With its latest purchase, the firm now owns 3.76% of the total token supply and is now over 75% of the way to holding 5% of the supply in just eight months.
Bitmine’s Chairman, Tom Lee, noted that they have staked more ETH than other entities in the world. He further revealed that their staking rewards could reach $259 million annually when their total holdings are fully staked. Lee added that they continue to make progress on their staking solution known as ‘The Made In America Validator Network (NAVAN),’ which they plan to deploy in the first part of this year.
The Ethereum treasury company has continued to make weekly ETH purchases despite holding an unrealized loss of almost $8 billion, with an average price of $3,768. Commenting on the current market downtrend, Tom Lee noted that Ethereum prices have shown resilience amid rising war concerns and surging oil prices. “We continue to believe that crypto prices are in the late/final stages of the ‘mini-crypto winter,’ he said.
Sharplink Outlines ETH Strategy For This Year
Sharplink, the second-largest Ethereum treasury company, outlined its ETH strategy for this year in its full-year 2025 report. The company plans to further compound ETH per share, generate yield above native staking rates, and expand partnership opportunities within the Ethereum ecosystem. Sharplink added that it will continue building a “pure-play, shareholder-aligned ETH treasury company.”
Sharplink currently holds just over 863,020 ETH at an average price of $3,543 and is sitting on an unrealized loss of $1.3 billion on its investment. Unlike Bitmine, Sharplink has paused its ETH purchases, with its last public purchase in October last year. The Ethereum treasury company has, however, staked its ETH and generated a total staking reward of 14,516 ETH through both native and liquid staking programs.
Notably, the Ethereum Foundation, the fourth-largest Ethereum treasury company, has also initiated plans to stake 70,000 ETH. The Foundation has already begun these plans, staking ETH with crypto ETF issuer Bitwise.
At the time of writing, the ETH price is trading at around $2,000, down in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
ETH trading at $2,044 on the 1D chart | Source: ETHUSDT on Tradingview.com
Featured image from Getty Images, chart from Tradingview.com
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An initiative to ban the U.S. Federal Reserve from issuing a government-run digital dollar has been approved in an overwhelmingly bipartisan 89-10 vote in the Senate, but it’s tucked inside a housing bill that may run into headwinds in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The effort to outlaw a central bank digital currency (CBDC) has long been a favorite of Republican lawmakers, though the U.S. government has never advanced beyond the research stage for establishing a government token that could compete with privately issued stablecoins (and rival other CBDCs pursued by China and other jurisdictions). The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act included an unrelated section that outlawed U.S. CBDCs until at least the end of 2030.
The section, in the final pages of the 302-page bill advanced by the Senate, declares that the Fed “may not issue or create a central bank digital currency or any digital asset that is substantially similar to a central bank digital currency directly or indirectly through a financial institution or other intermediary.”
“Financial privacy is a cornerstone of American freedom, and any decision to authorize a Central Bank Digital Currency must remain with Congress and the American people,” said Digital Chamber CEO Cody Carbone in a statement. “We appreciate the Senate reinforcing that digital innovation in the United States should be led by the private sector while protecting individual liberty.”
But lawmakers in the House have signaled they may force a second effort at the Senate’s version, which could disrupt the bill’s progress. At particular issue is the Senate bill’s forcing of large investors in U.S. housing, such as private equity firms, to sharply limit the number of homes they can own.
President Donald Trump has favored that concept himself — one of the few areas of overlap with Democratic lawmakers.
Though Trump has supported the effort to make housing more widely available in the U.S., he recently stated that he won’t sign any bills into law until Congress sends him legislation that would demand voters produce identification and proof of citizenship before they cast ballots in this year’s consequential congressional midterm election. The path for that initiative is unclear, adding to the uncertainty for those advocating the housing bill and other efforts, including the crypto market structure bill known as the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act.
Crypto developer activity has dropped sharply since early 2025, with weekly code commits falling roughly 75% as it is suspected that engineering talent has increasingly migrated toward artificial intelligence (AI) projects, according to new analytics data. Reported Developer Migration to AI Reshapes Blockchain Innovation Trends Developer activity metrics compiled by the blockchain analytics platform Artemis […]
Gamers love upgrades – better graphics, faster load times, smoother gameplay. But not all updates are created equal. If you’re running Windows 11, you’ve probably felt the mix of excitement and dread that comes with every new patch. On one hand, these updates promise optimizations, new features, and stability. On the other hand, they’ve been known to throw curveballs – like breaking drivers, tanking frame rates, or introducing bizarre bugs that make your rig feel cursed.
The Double-Edged Sword of Windows Updates
Windows 11 is supposed to be the most gamer-friendly version of Microsoft’s OS yet, with features like Auto HDR, DirectStorage, and enhanced Game Mode. But every time Microsoft pushes an update, the community holds its breath. Will it boost FPS – or break your favorite title?
Let’s be honest: the fear is justified. History has given gamers plenty of reasons to be cautious.
Common Issues Updates Have Caused:
Driver Conflicts: GPU drivers suddenly incompatible after patching.
FPS Drops: Performance optimizations for some systems, lag for others.
App Breakage: Certain overlays or anti-cheat systems stop working.
Unexpected Reboots: Imagine a ranked match interrupted by a forced restart.
When your gaming setup feels like a finely tuned machine, the thought of an update shaking things up is nerve-wracking.
The Bright Side: Why Updates Still Matter
It’s not all doom and gloom. Many updates do make a real difference for gamers.
Benefits Worth Highlighting:
Performance Tweaks: Improvements to memory management and CPU scheduling.
Security Fixes: Protection against vulnerabilities that could affect online play.
Feature Rollouts: DirectStorage improvements, HDR tweaks, and Xbox app integrations.
Bug Fixes: Glitches from previous patches often get smoothed out.
So, while some updates may feel risky, skipping them altogether could mean missing out on serious quality-of-life upgrades.
How Gamers Can Stay Ahead of Patch Anxiety
If you don’t want to roll the dice every Patch Tuesday, there are smart ways to manage updates.
Tips to Minimize Update Pitfalls:
Pause Updates Temporarily: Wait until early reports confirm stability.
Check Gaming Forums: Reddit and Discord communities often spot issues first.
Update Drivers Separately: Ensure your GPU drivers are aligned with the OS patch.
Create Restore Points: Roll back quickly if an update goes south.
By taking control, you can enjoy the best of both worlds – new features without nasty surprises.
Final Verdict: A Balancing Act
Windows 11 updates are a mixed bag. They can bring the polish gamers crave or the headaches they fear. The key is preparation. With a valid Windows 11 license key, you’re not only getting access to the latest features but also ensuring your system stays supported and secure if an update does misfire.
At the end of the day, updates are part of gaming life: equal parts excitement and anxiety. You can’t always control what Microsoft ships, but you can control how you prepare for it. And when it comes to getting the tools you need to stay ahead, digital marketplaces like Eneba stand out as a top choice for acquiring discounted digital products, offering a broad selection, competitive prices, and fast access to codes.
The platform clearly labels region restrictions on listings, ensuring buyers know exactly what they’re getting. Refunds are available if codes are invalid or already redeemed, providing peace of mind. Additionally, Eneba maintains a controlled marketplace, only allowing verified sellers who are closely monitored for legitimacy, making it a reliable option for gamers.
Bitcoin’s (BTC) long-term price trend against gold shows a bullish shift after retracing to a level previously seen in 2017, 2022, and 2023. The potential trend change appears alongside what analysts describe as an “opportunity within risk.”
BTC–gold ratio shows bullish divergence
MN Capital founder Michaël van de Poppe noted that the Bitcoin-to-gold ratio is showing strength after forming a bullish divergence with the relative strength index (RSI) on the daily chart.
BTCUSD/Gold ratio on a daily chart. Source: X
A bullish divergence occurs when the price forms lower lows while momentum indicators such as the RSI form higher lows. The setup signals fading selling pressure.
In February, the ratio retraced to a key support level near 12-13 that previously acted as resistance in 2017 before turning into support in 2022 and 2023. As a result, the current level may serve as a potential bottom for Bitcoin’s long-term trend against gold.
Bitcoin/Gold ratio one-month chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView
Another reason for this possibility is the change in Bitcoin and gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) flows over the past month.
For example, the US gold-backed ETF, SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), recorded a $3 billion outflow on March 6. The Kobeissi Letter said,
“This surpasses any previous large daily outflow seen over the last 2 years by +200%.”
Gold ETF flows. Source: World Gold Council
Meanwhile, the 30-day change in Bitcoin ETF flows improved to $906 million in net inflows on March 11, up from a $1.9 billion outflow a month earlier.
Related: Bitcoin hugs $70K range as March Fed rate cut odds fall below 1%
The holdings measured in native units show another divergence. The 30-day change in Bitcoin ETF balances has improved to 12,909 BTC from -34,197 BTC, while gold ETF holdings dropped to roughly 606,850 ounces from 1.4 million ounces on Feb. 13.
Macro creates an opportunity window for Bitcoin
According to Binance Research, the current macro volatility may present an “opportunity within risk” for Bitcoin. The report noted that BTC has moved similarly to macro assets like oil and US equities amid the US-Israel and Iran war, reflecting how global events are currently driving the price action.
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But capital is starting to return to BTC despite the volatility. The share of Bitcoin trading volume from US spot ETFs has increased recently, signaling rising institutional activity.
Related: Three Bitcoin Binance charts reveal the setup behind the next big move
Yet ETFs still represent only around 9% of total BTC spot trading volume, well below the 30–40% ETF-to-total equity trading volume in US equity markets, suggesting significant room for institutional expansion.
BTC returns 1-year before and after the midterm elections. Source: Binance Research
Historically, periods of geopolitical turmoil have also preceded strong recoveries. For instance, US midterm election years often have market drawdowns with the S&P 500 averaging a 16% peak-to-trough decline. While Bitcoin has historically fallen around 56% during those cycles.
However, the 12 months following midterm elections have never produced a negative S&P 500 return since 1939, averaging gains of 19%, and Bitcoin has rallied an average of 54% in all three post-midterm years on record.
As Cointelegraph reported, the $78,000 level is now key to a potential broader trend change in the BTC market.
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. While we strive to provide accurate and timely information, Cointelegraph does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information in this article. This article may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Cointelegraph will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your reliance on this information.
Bitcoin Sports Network (BSN) will host the 3rd Annual Bitcoin Golf Championship on April 26, 2026, at Bali Hai Golf Club in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event is scheduled alongside the Bitcoin Vegas Conference at the Venetian, which starts on the 27th of April.
Whale Pass holders for the Bitcoin Vegas 2026 conference get a 10% off the 3rd Annual Bitcoin Golf Championship as well! With code WHALE26 at checkout.
The announcement follows the 2nd Max & Stacy Invitational, which BSN organized in January at El Encanto Country Club in La Libertad, El Salvador, in partnership with Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert and sponsored by Ikigii (Towerbank).
The El Salvador event included a poker tournament sponsored by Casino Colonial and a poolside 19th Hole Challenge. Attendees included Mike Peterson, Dr. Jack Kruse, Texas Slim, Archie from The Bitcoin Archives, and Bitcoin educator Jimmy Song.
“Nothing is impossible for Chris and Frieda. It is almost magical how they nail it every single time,” said Max Keiser.
Keiser also said: “I love this event. It’s like an amusement park for Bitcoiners. Everybody is focused on having maximalist fun. Chris and Frieda are the wizards behind the scenes making it all come together.”
Patrick Lowry, CEO of Samara Asset Group, said: “BSN once again proves to be the best at bringing Bitcoiners from around the world together. My wife and I enjoyed golf, poker, and meeting Bitcoiners from around the world—we’ve already begun planning next year’s trip.”
The Las Vegas event will use a 2-person scramble format. It will include Bitcoin-themed hole activations, exclusive prizes, and the Bitcoin Kickoff Party at the clubhouse. Organizers expect more than 300 attendees, including founders, builders, investors, and creators. Bali Hai Golf Club is located minutes from the main conference venue.
Following the Las Vegas event, BSN plans to host an event in Canada and launch the World Bitcoin Poker Tour.
Tickets and sponsorships for the Las Vegas event are available at bitcoingolfchampionship.com. Details for the Canada event are at https://thebtcopen.com/.
Attendees can play golf and poker with Bitcoin OGs and then head to the world class Bitcoin Vegas conference the next two days at the Venetian.
CharmCopilot Moves Beyond Ambient Transcription to Support Triage, Charting, Lab Review, Billing, and Workflow Navigation
CharmHealth, a leader in healthcare technology solutions for providers, today announced its latest AI-powered solution, CharmCopilot, a multi-agent assistant embedded directly within its electronic health record (EHR) platform to support clinicians and care teams across the entire care workflow. Built on a multi-agent AI architecture, with specialized agents for intake, summarization, documentation and operational support, CharmCopilot works alongside care teams across the clinical and operational workflow in real time. Unlike standalone AI scribes or transcription tools, CharmCopilot is designed to reduce manual tasks, minimize documentation burdens, and surface relevant information to support clinical judgment at the point of care.
CharmHealth’s vision is to deliver meaningful offerings, like CharmCopilot, that actively support clinicians, staff and care teams; AI is central to that vision.Share
By operating natively within the EHR, CharmCopilot understands clinical context — including patient history, medications, vitals, labs and prior encounters — allowing it to provide intelligent assistance throughout the care process rather than simply transcribing conversations.
“CharmHealth’s vision is to deliver meaningful offerings that actively support clinicians, staff and care teams, and AI is central to that vision,” said Pramila Srinivasan, Ph.D., CEO of CharmHealth. “With CharmCopilot, we’re not bolting AI onto the outside of our EHR; we’re weaving it into the fabric of the product itself so that the right intelligence is instantly accessible at every step of the clinical workflow for superior patient care.”
As part of its AI-forward product strategy, CharmHealth is making the core capabilities of CharmCopilot available to existing customers at no additional cost, enabling practices of all sizes to adopt AI assistance within their daily workflows.
A New Vision of Care That Supports the Entire Team
Unlike standalone AI tools that require providers to toggle between systems, CharmCopilot is embedded natively within the CharmHealth platform and delivers role-aware AI assistance across clinical, operational and administrative workflows. The system dynamically adapts to the user’s role and context during care delivery. Its initial features include:
Nurse Triage: Automatically derives medical history from nurse-patient conversations. Nurses can review and refine the captured details directly before adding them to the patient’s dashboard.
Patient Summarization: Generates concise summaries of patient history, including medications and prior encounters, and highlights abnormal trends for quicker clinical insights.
Lab Review Support: Summarizes lab results, flags abnormal patterns, and enables follow-up questions to help clinicians interpret trends for review.
Charting Assistant: Listens in real time and extracts both subjective and objective details to generate assessments, diagnoses and differential diagnoses with clear reasoning. It also suggests treatment plans, clinical considerations and care pathways, helping clinicians explore all diagnostic and treatment possibilities while reducing documentation effort.
Back Office and Billing Support: Extends reach beyond clinical encounters to help billing and administrative staff navigate coding workflows, answer eligibility questions and documentation requirements more efficiently, and streamline operational processes.
Resource and Navigation Assistant: Answers “how-to” questions and guides users through workflows by pulling trusted instructions and policies from CharmHealth resources, reducing training time and simplifying navigation for new staff.
Because CharmCopilot is an interactive chat interface, it can give every member of the care team context-aware, real-time answers and faster guidance at any point during care delivery. Every suggestion CharmCopilot makes is transparent, reviewable and grounded in the patient’s actual data. Clinicians remain fully in control of the medical record — CharmCopilot suggests and assists, but users review and approve all changes before anything is saved.
The solution has already shown 95% note accuracy through CharmHealth’s EHR-integrated AI Scribe and a 30-50% reduction in administrative burden across participating practices in early testing. It also supports prompts and voice commands in 99 languages, making it accessible to a diverse patient population and the clinicians who serve them.
CharmHealth’s approach reflects a broader commitment to making practical AI capabilities widely accessible within the EHR environment rather than limiting them to premium add-ons.
Circle (CRCL) has recently outperformed other crypto-linked equities, a move investment bank William Blair said reflects more than shifting macro conditions.
“It is tempting to ascribe recent strength to surging oil prices and perhaps a more hawkish Fed,” wrote analysts Andrew Jeffrey and Adib Choudhury in a Thursday note to clients.
“We think there is more at play, however, including USDC market cap resilience despite a crypto drawdown and growing appreciation of Circle’s economic model and stablecoin infrastructure leadership,” the analysts said.
The bank reiterated its outperform rating on the stock, arguing the rally, which has lifted shares roughly 126% from a February low, reflects improving sentiment toward stablecoin infrastructure rather than short-term market noise.
The shares were 1.2% higher at publication time, trading around $114.20.
Crypto-linked equities have broadly tracked, and often amplified, the recent downturn in digital assets, with shares of exchanges, miners and crypto-treasury companies falling as bitcoin retreated from its late-2025 highs.
Stocks such as Coinbase (COIN) and other crypto-exposed firms have typically moved in tandem with digital asset prices, reflecting the sector’s tight linkage to trading volumes and token valuations, and in some cases declining even more sharply than the underlying assets during market stress.
Japanese bank Mizuho said in a report last week that part of Circle’s rally may be tied to the recent surge in oil prices following escalating tensions in the Middle East. Higher crude prices could stoke renewed inflation concerns, the bank said, potentially dampening expectations for Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.
William Blair analysts said investors had previously been too bearish on Circle amid regulatory uncertainty and expectations for interest rate cuts. Now, the firm sees signs that the market is beginning to recognize the company’s core thesis: stablecoins could become a key layer of global payments infrastructure.
USDC could emerge as one of a handful of dominant standards in cross-border commerce, citing its liquidity, first-mover advantage and integration across crypto networks, according to the analysts.
The report also pointed to growing activity across Circle’s payments and infrastructure stack, including its stablecoin payments network, as evidence that the market for stablecoin-based settlement is beginning to take shape.
While other companies and tech platforms have floated launching their own stablecoins, the report said Circle’s minting, cross-chain transfer and payment orchestration infrastructurecould provide a durable competitive moat as the sector develops.
Read more: How the war in Iran and trader positioning could be behind the surge in Circle’s stock
Eightco Holdings’ (ORBS) shares rose as much as 25% in early trading after the firm said it secured $125 million in new institutional funding commitments and made $75 million in AI and crypto investments.
The commitments include $75 million from Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR), an ether (ETH) treasury asset company that holds a near 7% stake in the firm, according to MarketScreener data. Bitmine Chairman Tom Lee will join the board.
ARK Invest, whose chief futurist, Brett Winton, becomes an adviser, and Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, each committed to $25 million. Several other firms, including Coinfund, Pantera and FalconX, also agreed to support the company.
Alongside the funding, Eightco said it has already deployed capital into two high-profile investments. These include $50 million into OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, and $25 million into Beast Industries, the business arm of YouTube creator MrBeast.
The company, formerly known as Cryptyde and active in packaging and logistics, also maintains a large treasury position in WLD$0.3577, a cryptocurrency tied to the World identity network co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
The project uses biometric verification through specialized devices known as “Orbs” to create a digital identity that confirms a user is a real person rather than an automated bot.
That system aims to address a growing problem on the internet: distinguishing human activity from content produced by AI systems.
Eightco has accumulated roughly 277 million WLD tokens, close to 10% of the token’s circulating supply, along with 11,000 ether and $82 million in cash reserves, according to a company update.
Dan Ives, who chaired the company during its 2025 strategic shift, will step down.
Bitmine’s Lee said the strategy connects several major technology trends.
“To me, there is tremendous synergy between Proof of Human (Worldcoin), the OpenAI foundational models, and connectivity to the greatest content creator in the world, MrBeast,” he said in a statement.
Bitmine invested $200 million in Beast Industries in January.
WLD’s price rose more than 2% on the announcement to now trade at $0.362 per token. ORBS were recently trading at $1.00.
In crypto’s latest infrastructure race, blockchains are competing to host perpetual futures exchanges. Many are now launching or incubating decentralized derivatives markets themselves, even as centralized platforms continue to dominate.
Derivatives make up most of today’s crypto trading activity, often accounting for the majority of total volume. On Tuesday, Bitcoin (BTC) spot trading volume across centralized exchanges reached about 55,230 BTC while derivatives volume totaled more than 506,600 BTC, according to CryptoQuant.
Perpetual decentralized exchanges, or perp DEXs, now act as core infrastructure as they give traders, market makers and institutional participants access to leveraged products, according to Nina Rong, executive director of growth at BNB Chain.
“When these players are active on a chain, they bring liquidity, hedging activity, and arbitrage flows, which significantly increase overall onchain volume and strengthen the ecosystem’s trading environment,” she told Cointelegraph.
While several blockchains are exploring their own derivatives venues, launching one does not automatically translate into meaningful or sustained trading activity. Derivatives liquidity has historically consolidated around a small number of dominant exchanges rather than spreading evenly across platforms.
Blockchains begin building or incubating their own perp DEXs
The logic is quite straightforward. If derivatives drive a large share of crypto trading volume, a perp DEX can help a blockchain attract more trading activity.
“In many ways, it has become a competitive race: the chains that host the largest number of successful derivatives platforms are more likely to attract and sustain higher trading volume within their ecosystem,” said Rong.
For BNB Chain, that platform is Aster. On Thursday, it had the second-highest open interest among perp DEXs, according to DefiLlama. Rong claimed that Aster’s rise has helped BNB’s ability to maintain its market share.
Aster is second in perp DEX rankings behind Hyperliquid. Source: DefiLlama
Some chains are actively incubating perp DEXs instead of waiting for an external team to select their network to build on. One such example is Decibel, which went live on the Aptos mainnet on Feb. 26.
“What you actually see in the crypto ecosystem as a whole is different L1s and different blockchains starting to think about what is actually going to use the block space,” Brylee Whatley, the head of Decibel Foundation, told Cointelegraph.
Aptos recently got its own perp DEX as Decibel went live. Source: Decibel
“A lot of L1 teams realize they are in the best position to understand the mechanics of their own chains and build applications on top of them,” he said.
Whatley added that Decibel itself was not part of the recent rush by blockchains to build perp DEXs. Aptos has been incubating Decibel for about a year, many months before Hyperliquid, Aster and Lighter vied for market dominance.
Liquidity tends to consolidate around dominant venues
Launching a perp DEX will not guarantee a fountain of eternal liquidity. According to Stephan Lutz, CEO of BitMEX, derivatives trading has historically tended to cluster around a few platforms.
“All markets (derivatives and spot) rely heavily on market makers and strong risk management systems. These participants usually favor platforms that already have liquidity and a track record,” Lutz told Cointelegraph.
This means in the long run, it is inefficient to separate trading venues per chain or coin. Given that traders often trade across multiple chains and coins, we believe that consolidation is an almost natural process.”
A similar pattern has played out in traditional financial markets over the past three decades. The shift to electronic trading in the 1990s led to a wave of exchanges and alternative platforms entering the market. Over time, liquidity often reconsolidated around venues with deeper order books, lower spreads and more reliable infrastructure, according to research published by the Bank for International Settlements.
Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) dominates much of the US futures market in TradFi today. The Intercontinental Exchange leads in energy derivatives and Eurex Exchange is a major venue for European index futures.
In crypto, the majority of Bitcoin and Ether (ETH) derivatives trading has historically concentrated on a few exchanges like Binance, OKX, Bybit and Deribit. More recently, decentralized platforms such as Hyperliquid have emerged as significant players for perpetual futures activity.
Deribit leads the crypto options market for Bitcoin and Ether. Source: Kaiko
Centralized exchanges still provide advantages such as order handling, risk management, liquidity and trading infrastructure, while fully onchain platforms are limited by block times, leading to delays and slippage, Sidrah Fariq, head of retail sales at Deribit, told Cointelegraph.
“In addition, centralized exchanges can offer greater privacy, which can be important for institutional traders,” she added.
Meanwhile, proponents of onchain exchanges argue that decentralization and composability allow derivatives liquidity to embed itself within specific ecosystems.
Related: Why institutions still prefer Ethereum despite faster blockchains
“Your order book is on the blockchain and verifiable, and order matching follows price-time priority set by the blockchain itself,” said Decibel’s Whatley.
“When you send an order you know exactly how it’s getting matched and that it’s entering the order book fairly instead of being routed somewhere else,” he said.
The “U” shape of derivatives markets
The long-term picture for derivatives may depend on whether perp DEXs differentiate themselves across networks or simply replicate the same products. Rong of BNB Chain said networks that offer distinct features may have an advantage.
“Chains win by offering unique yield opportunities or distinctive trading venues that are not available elsewhere,” she said. But if similar platforms emerge everywhere, “the result will likely be fragmentation across multiple ecosystems, rather than a single dominant hub.”
At the same time, market dynamics may eventually push liquidity back toward a smaller set of venues. Lutz from BitMEX said market makers and professional traders tend to cluster where they can deploy capital efficiently and manage risk across many assets without jumping between platforms.
“If liquidity is too spread out across several derivatives platforms, it often leads to wider spreads and more volatile markets,” he said.
That dynamic may produce what Lutz described as a cyclical pattern for ecosystems experimenting with their own derivative platforms.
“We expect a U-shaped technical liquidity development per ecosystem,” he said, where new venues initially see a surge of activity before momentum fades.
Perpetual futures markets now influence where liquidity forms, how traders hedge risk and which platforms dominate trading activity. As blockchains compete to host those markets, derivatives trading is increasingly becoming core infrastructure for crypto ecosystems.
Magazine: The debate over Bitcoin’s four-year cycle is over: Benjamin Cowen
Cointelegraph Features publishes long-form journalism, analysis, and narrative reporting produced by Cointelegraph’s in-house editorial team with subject-matter expertise. All articles are edited and reviewed by Cointelegraph editors in line with our editorial standards. Research or perspective in this article does not reflect the views of Cointelegraph as a company unless explicitly stated. Content published in Features does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Readers should conduct their own research and consult qualified professionals where appropriate. Cointelegraph maintains full editorial independence. The selection, commissioning, and publication of Features and Magazine content are not influenced by advertisers, partners, or commercial relationships. This content is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy.
