Tether is integrating its USDT stablecoin into the Bitcoin Lightning Network using the Taproot Assets protocol.

The S&P 500 rose 0.53% on Thursday and is up 3.2% for the month, driven by positive tech earnings despite ongoing market volatility. Gold prices surged to a record high on Thursday due to safe-haven demand amid U.S. tariff threats. Spot gold rose 1.4% to $2,796.15 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures increased by 2% to $2,824. Coindesk Indices, an index measuring broader cryptocurrency market performance was up by 1.01%, with Bitcoin and Ether rising by 0.65% and 3.31%, respectively in the past 24 hours. Trade these markets and more with up to 500x leverage on Bybit MT5 using this 

Today's top performer is AR, which surged nearly 20.9% following KYVE's archiving of 10TB of Web3 historical data on Arweave.

Arweave (AR), launched in June 2018, is a decentralized platform for permanent data storage. It uses its AR cryptocurrency to ensure data permanence, offers easy web access, and partners with the Internet Archive to secure data preservation. KYVE has 

 over 10TB of compressed, trustless data onto Arweave, including historical chain data from Ethereum, Osmosis, Celestia, and Archway, making Web3 history easily accessible.

Check Out the Latest Prices, Charts, and Data of 

 its USDT stablecoin into the Bitcoin Lightning Network using the Taproot Assets protocol. This partnership, announced at the Plan B conference, aims to expand Bitcoin's functionality and allow USDT payments on Lightning. Tether, with a market cap of $139.4 billion, processed $10 trillion in transactions in 2024 and operates across multiple blockchains. The integration is expected to benefit users in emerging markets and support future transactions between AI agents and autonomous vehicles.

Yesterday, the BTC Spot ETF saw a total flow of $266.6 million, all from non-GBTC sources.

D3 is developing a DomainFi network on the Doma Protocol and has raised $25M from top VCs. They are partnering with projects like Solana Foundation and Avalanche. To potentially qualify for an airdrop, you can buy a domain for $10/year. Payments can be made with Ethereum or the domain's respective chain. Participation carries some risk.

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Tether Brings USDT to Bitcoin Lightning Network

Our weekly crypto derivatives analytics report delves into macro events, the current state of crypto and trading signals from spot trading volume, as well as futures, options and perpetual contracts.

Markets faced a significant risk-off event early this week as DeepSeek's LLM announcement coincided with sharp declines in major indices and crypto markets. Despite the volatile sell-off in spot markets, open interest in perpetual swaps remained stable, with funding rates briefly turning negative before recovering. 

Options markets saw an increase in trading volume during the sell-off, although forward-looking volatility expectations declined. The period of positive funding rates for perpetuals ended due to bearish spot price action on Monday. In the options space, realized volatility fell below implied volatility, reflecting a small-scale repeat of the pre-inauguration term structure inversion. Notably, ETH options maintained a volatility premium over BTC options, while longer-dated volatility smiles exhibited a bullish skew toward out-of-the-money (OTM) calls.

Please check out the report’s highlights.

Options open interest data shows minimal change over the past week, except for the expiration and reopening of short-dated options. Despite the largest single-day trading volumes in call options this month — nearly $250M during the spot price sell-off — trade volume did not significantly impact volatility, which has declined for both realized and implied metrics. Positioning has split between short- and longer-tenor volatility smiles. Short-tenor options are exhibiting lower volatility and a neutral skew, while longer-dated volatility smiles are reflecting increased volatility expectations and a persistent bullish skew toward OTM calls, as has been the case since the election.

ETH options trading volume has surged over the past week, marking its strongest levels in a month. While late December 2024 and early January 2025 saw robust activity, recent data indicates a more active calls market, with open interest remaining heavily weighted toward calls. The early-week global market sell-off briefly shifted short-tenor ETH volatility smiles away from calls, reminiscent of the volatility term structure inversion seen before the inauguration. Despite ETH's spot recovery being weaker than BTC's, its options have maintained higher volatility levels.

Following last week's rally in spot price due to the launch of two presidential meme coins, Solana's price has retreated with the broader crypto market. However, positioning from the rally remains largely unchanged, with open interest in puts and calls remaining elevated and trading activity surpassing pre-rally levels. The stable levels of newly opened put options likely reflect protective buying intended to hedge profitable long positions in other instruments.

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Bybit X Block Scholes Crypto Derivatives Analytics Report (Jan 29, 2025): Options Market Recovers From Monday’s Sell-Off

Phantom wallet has officially integrated Sui, making it the first Move-based blockchain and third Layer 1 supported on the platform. 

The S&P 500 fell 0.47% amid Fed rate pause and mixed tech earnings. Gold fell 0.4% as the dollar and Treasury yields rose after the Fed held rates steady, offering little clarity on future cuts. Coindesk Indices, an index measuring broader cryptocurrency market performance was up by 2.07%, with Bitcoin and Ether rising by 2.99% and 2.90%, respectively in the past 24 hours. Trade these markets and more with up to 500x leverage on Bybit MT5 using this 

Today's top performer is TAI, which surged nearly 38.6% following the unveiling of the Sona framework by TARS AI for cost-efficient AI computation.

TARS AI (TAI), launched in 2022, is a decentralized, multichain platform offering AI-powered tools to help web3 projects launch and manage tokens efficiently. Rebranded in 2023, it supports eight blockchains, including Ethereum and BNB Chain, with plans for expansion. TARS AI is set to 

 two custom frameworks in V1 of its AI Market, including Sona, a proprietary framework compatible with DeepSeek AI for efficient, low-cost computations. More details will be revealed in February.

, making it the first Move-based blockchain and third Layer 1 supported on the platform. This gives Phantom’s 15 million users access to SUI, enabling them to send, receive, swap, and interact with Sui-based tokens and dApps. Sui has rapidly grown, reaching over $2 billion in TVL and becoming a major destination for Ethereum outflows. Phantom's CEO praised Sui’s scalability and user experience, aligning with their multichain vision. The integration marks a significant step in expanding Sui’s adoption and accessibility.

Yesterday, BTC Spot ETFs recorded $120.4M in inflows, entirely from non-GBTC funds.

 tasks to boost Grass points, offering up to 30% in bonuses. Users can earn boosts by swapping $10K on Lifinity, trading meme coins on Fighthorse, or betting $1K on Skate x Polymarket. These points may play a key role in the Eclipse airdrop.

Phantom Wallet Integrates Sui, Expanding Access for 15 Million Users

Ondo Finance is deploying its tokenized U.S. Treasury fund, OUSG, on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) within six months, expanding institutional access to tokenized real-world assets. 

Daily Top Performer — Movement Labs (MOVE)

The S&P 500 rose 0.92%, rebounding ahead of the Fed’s rate decision. Gold climbed 0.8% to $2,762.02 as tariff uncertainties boosted safe-haven demand. Coindesk Indices, an index measuring broader cryptocurrency market performance was down by 0.32%, with Bitcoin and Ether dropping by 0.20% and 3.40%, respectively in the past 24 hours. Trade these markets and more with up to 500x leverage on Bybit MT5 using this 

Today's top performer is MOVE, which surged nearly 17.7% following the launch of Movement Network's Developer Mainnet, paving the way for the Public Beta.

Movement Labs (MOVE), founded in 2023, is a modular blockchain network powered by the Move language, aiming to enhance security, performance, and UX in decentralized networks. Its key products include Movement SDK, the M1 Layer 1 network, and M2, an Ethereum Layer 2 rollup. 

, allowing select developers to deploy apps and access new infrastructure. This phase builds on the Mainnet Beta and will run until mid-February. The next phase, Public Mainnet Beta, will introduce full permissionless app deployment and user onboarding. Movement Network is built for modularity, leveraging Celestia.

 its tokenized U.S. Treasury fund, OUSG, on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) within six months, expanding institutional access to tokenized real-world assets. Backed by BlackRock’s BUIDL fund, OUSG offers 24/7 minting and redemption via Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin, enhancing liquidity and financial flexibility. The integration leverages XRPL’s institutional-grade infrastructure, compliance tools, and deep financial relationships to bridge DeFi and traditional finance, positioning XRPL as a key hub for tokenized assets.

BTC Spot ETFs saw a net outflow of $11.7 million, with no change in GBTC and all outflows from non-GBTC funds.

" quest is now live on Galxe, offering tasks to earn points that may be useful for a future airdrop. Participants can complete onchain transactions, explore dApps, join social activities, and more. Week 1 is already underway!

Ondo Finance Brings Tokenized U.S. Treasuries to XRP Ledger for Institutional DeFi

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Blockchain

Base is a Layer 2 network that operates on the Ethereum blockchain. Its mainnet launched on Aug 9, 2023. Find out more about how it works in this article.

Recently, the popular trading platform Coinbase has begun to focus on offering other goods and services to its users. Base is one of Coinbase's newest web3 products, a blockchain ecosystem that could potentially attract a lot of developers. If you're interested in learning why Base is so exciting, explore this guide to learn how it works and what features it provides.

To fully understand what Base is, it's necessary to understand

. A Layer 2 network is an off-chain network that operates alongside the underlying blockchain network. Ethereum Layer 2 chains follow the same basic structure as the main blockchain. They can manage

, and have the same secure access as the main chain. However, they have fewer transaction fees and are more

The main reason Base is generating so much press is because of the company behind the project.

is currently one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the United States. Created in 2012, its trading platform helps people to buy, sell, exchange and store cryptocurrency. It also offers some other products, such as

for merchants who want to accept crypto payments.

Coinbase is joining Optimism as a core developer on the open-source OP Stack, which is the developer toolkit used for Optimism.

Base’s project has a few different goals. On the surface, the main focus is simply providing developers with secure and easy access to an Ethereum Layer 2 network. Coinbase asserts that they hope the project will be a low-cost "bridge," making it easy for users to create other products for the crypto economy.

Base aims to solve some issues with other

software that’s publicly available, so other users can

the chain and make their own version as desired. The developer-friendly open source OP Stack system is customizable and modular, and is designed to be interoperable with other chains and fully decentralized. This has the potential to make the system a valuable tool for developers.

There’s also a more practical motivation behind Base's production: Unlike many other Layer 2 Ethereum chains, Base will have direct connections to Coinbase's products. For example, if a developer creates a blockchain-based game, they can use this system to help their users easily cash out their tokens on Coinbase. It has the potential to help Coinbase maintain its popularity as crypto users pivot from traditional investors to web3 enthusiasts.

Base uses Layer 2 technology to save developers money while offering all the features of Ethereum. This works by creating a secondary blockchain that runs parallel to the main Ethereum chain. The Layer 2 network processes transactions for everyone working on the new network. Once the transactions are finalized, it sends them to Ethereum Layer 1. The main Ethereum blockchain then writes this data in its ledger, and it becomes an official part of the main chain.

The network also uses another mechanism called a

, which is essentially a type of transaction bundle. Rollups take data from hundreds of different transactions and compress it into a single transaction that's posted on the main chain. By combining many similar transactions, Base further reduces the amount of money it costs to add transactions to the Ethereum chain.

In addition to offering Layer 2 access, Base aims to provide developers with many other helpful features.

if they choose to do so. However, for those who prefer not to deal with the expense and challenge of running a node, Base offers access to many third-party node providers. Node network offering options include

, an essential Layer 2 network offering for developers, help to transfer data from one blockchain to another. The current bridges in Base let you send ETH tokens from Layer 1 to Layer 2, which makes it easy for early stage projects to build a base ecosystem fund or move their profits to another location.

are an incredibly helpful feature that lets people add real-world data to on-chain functions. Right now, Optimism's OP Stack system primarily supports

check prices for popular cryptos and send that data to Base. Developers can use these oracle tools to set up smart contracts that behave in a certain manner when predetermined prices are reached. This will eventually create the ability to add automation to the Base network.

To make Base as developer-friendly as possible, the Layer 2 network includes several toolchains. These are systems that make it much easier to create early stage projects. They provide developers with a quick way to perform complex tasks instead of having to code each step one by one. Current toolchains supported by Base include

. These toolchains help with everything from smart contract compilation to debugging.

make it much easier to filter the vast amounts of data found on Base. Instead of having to read a bunch of raw data, developers can use a simple, convenient interface to explore transaction info, smart contract source codes and more. The network's OP Stack system is compatible with options like

Development on the Base network is low cost, but it's not free. Developers will still need a base ecosystem fund to pay for transactions.

let you add ETH to Base so you can pay gas fees and other relevant expenses. Coinbase has an integrated faucet in their Coinbase Wallet that provides secure access to ETH. You can just log in to your account and directly withdraw ETH to use on Base. The system also supports third-party faucets like

While Base is certainly an exciting new Layer 2, it's not the first project to come up with this concept. There are some other networks that aim to provide an affordable and easy way for developers to work on Ethereum.

is a popular option that offers some Layer 2 scaling and rollup mechanisms. However, the underlying Polygon network isn’t a Layer 2 system like Base. Instead, it's a sidechain that’s compatible with Ethereum, but uses a different

is another commonly used choice that does run on Layer 2 Ethereum networks, just as Base does. However, it doesn't use an

-compatible machine to process its transactions, and it has slightly lower transaction speeds than other options on the market.

Layer 2 solutions like Base have a very positive impact on Ethereum. Since they reduce network congestion on Ethereum Layer 1, users don't have to deal with skyrocketing transaction fees and declining transaction speeds every time a developer wants to test a new product. At the same time, they also draw positive attention to Ethereum. By helping developers build DApps that run on the Ethereum network, Base helps to solidify Ethereum's position as the favorite network for designing web3 crypto products.

Base has accomplished a lot since launching its testnet in February 2023. The network has achieved all the criteria of its initial road map, including increased security, infrastructure reviews, Bedrock upgrades and extensive audits.

. In addition to opening the mainnet, the road map for 2023 and 2024 also includes transitioning to Level 2 rollups and adding more decentralization to the network.

, the company doesn’t currently plan to create a new network token for Base. The system simply runs on

. However, Coinbase notes that there have been some issues with scammers trying to sell fake Base coins, passing them off as the native token of the Base blockchain. Therefore, investors need to be cautious, and check with the Coinbase ecosystem before purchasing any Base tokens. Coinbase will alert the public if it changes course, and does decide to release a new native gas token for the blockchain.

At a glance, Base is simply a standard Layer 2 system like Arbitrum, Polygon and many others. However, it stands apart because of its thorough integration with the Coinbase system. The ability to quickly and easily make DApps that work with the biggest crypto exchange in the U.S. provides a lot of fantastic opportunities for developers. This project might seem simple at first glance, but it could lead to impressive results.

Base: The Ethereum Layer 2 Blockchain by Coinbase

Grab Up to 5,000 USDT in Rewards

Grab Up to 5,000 USDT in Rewards