BTBT News & Events

As bitcoin, ethereum and other cryptocurrencies see major legal, institutional, and technological developments, the financial landscape continues to adapt. Stay up on the crypto news that matters with the "Crypto Currents" weekly from The Fly. Also, join us for your essential daily recap, every day at 2 PM ET on FlyCast radio.CHARLES SCHWAB DETAILS SPOT CRYPTO TRADING LAUNCH:On Thursday, Charles Schwabannouncedoffer that will begin a phased rollout to retail clients in the coming weeks. Schwab Crypto will provide direct access to bitcoin and ethereum trading, combined with educational content and experienced professional support. At launch, Schwab Crypto will include direct trading in bitcoin and ethereum, in-depth digital assets education and resources, including insights and commentary from the Schwab Center for Financial Research and crypto-focused content through Schwab Coaching, as well as the ability to view and trade cryptocurrency and traditional investments side-by-side across Schwab.com, Schwab Mobile, and thinkorswim. It will also include access to Schwab's 24/7 support from thousands of tenured service professionals and will be priced among the lowest in the industry at 75 basis points on the dollar value of each trade. Over time, Schwab plans to add additional cryptocurrencies to the platform, as well as transfer capabilities for both deposits and withdrawals, allowing clients with existing digital asset investments to bring them to Schwab alongside their other investments."With Schwab Crypto, investors can access familiar cryptocurrencies within an all in one investing and banking experience, backed by an ecosystem of education, tools, resources, and support so they can make informed decisions about how crypto might fit into their broader investing goals," said Joe Vietri, Head of Digital Assets. "Whether you're new to crypto and looking for a firm you know and trust, or you already own digital assets, our goal is to be the destination of choice for retail investors who want to incorporate digital assets into their portfolios with confidence."ETORO ENTERS AGREEMENT TO ACQUIRE ZENGA:eToroannounced Wednesday that it has entered intoa self-custodial crypto wallet provider, in a move that deepens eToro's digital asset capabilities and accelerates its strategy of connecting traditional finance with on-chain infrastructure and the crypto native economy. The acquisition brings together eToro's global multi-asset platform and distribution with Zengo's non-custodial wallet technology, supporting Zengo's next phase of growth while expanding eToro's digital asset capabilities. The transaction strengthens eToro's ability to support evolving digital asset use cases, including tokenized assets and emerging decentralized trading models such as prediction markets and perpetuals, as these markets develop.Yoni Assia, CEO, said, "We believe the future of finance will be increasingly digital, decentralized and user-controlled, with self-custody playing an important role in that evolution. Zengo has built an innovative and secure wallet experience, and this acquisition will enable us to accelerate its growth while continuing to provide users with choice in how they access digital assets. As we often say, crypto downtimes are the time to build and this acquisition reflects that long-term approach. At the same time, we continue to demonstrate the strength of our diversified business model. We've seen strong capital market activity so far this year, with commodity trading accounting for 60% of trading commissions by asset class in Q1 2026, with commodities trading volume nearly 4x higher year over year. This growth was driven by shifting global macro dynamics, our standing as a top-tier global multi-asset platform, and our strategic expansion of 24/7 trading, including gold and oil."On Thursday, eToro announced the relaunch of Tori, its AI investing companion, introducing three upgrades: persistent memory, real-time market sentiment from X powered by Grok 4.2, and the ability to create and manage user-defined AI-driven Agent Portfolios entirely through conversation.eToro also announced Tuesday the launch of the eToro App Store, a marketplace enabling investors and developers to build, share and access trading and analytics applications directly within the eToro platform.SEC APPROVES PLAN TO REMOVE DAY TRADING LIMITS:The Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday approved changes to the pattern day trading rule, shifting from a fixed $25,000 threshold for small investors to risk-based margin requirements applied to all traders. Public feedback "overwhelmingly supported" the plan, which includes the "elimination of the $25,000 minimum equity requirements and definition of pattern day trader," SEC Assistant Secretary Sherry Haywood wrote in an order.Goldman Sachs noted the change and pointed out that as this likely reduces margin requirements for traders, which would allow more smaller-sized accounts to trade more actively, this could drive increased retail trading volumes in equities, which could benefit brokers under coverage, including Buy-rated Robinhoodand Interactive Brokersand Neutral-rated eToro. This could be particularly true for the former, which has smaller average account sizes and mostly U.S. exposure, whereas Interactive Brokers has larger average accounts, and eToro is predominantly non-U.S. exposed.Meanwhile, BernsteinThe firm has an Outperform rating on the name with a $130 price target. The upside will be driven by a recovery in crypto markets and "breakout" revenue growth in prediction markets, the analyst said. Bernstein believes a "weak" Q1 report is already priced into Robinhood shares. The market will be forward looking as trading volumes recover Q2 onwards, contended the firm.Additionally, Truist lowered the firm's price target on Robinhood to $100 from $120 and kept a Buy rating on the shares. The firm updated its Robinhood model to incorporate trading data from February and March ahead of Q1 earnings. While shares have been under pressure year-to-date with revenue headwinds from crypto prices and high-beta equity volatility, shares have consolidated in recent months around $70, which the firm views as an attractive entry point for a platform poised to organically grow assets 20%+ annually for the next three years, the analyst said.CRYPTO COMPANIES SEEK MYTHOS ACCESS:Major crypto exchanges and custodians including Coinbaseand Binance are racing to prepare for powerful AI models like Anthropic's Mythos, which the AI company says could be dangerously good at finding and exploiting software vulnerabilities, The Information's Yueqi Yang reported Tuesday. Coinbase has been in "close communication" with Anthropic about Mythos, "a highly restricted model not available to the public," Coinbase Chief Security Officer Philip Martin said. "Mythos, and future models like it, will enable even deeper testing of software and systems at scale. This will accelerate digital threats as well as digital defense."Meanwhile, Piper Sandler raised the firm's price target on Coinbaseon the shares. Heading into Q1 earnings, the firm expects management teams to strike a positive tone on the outlook for trading volumes, especially in futures as the Iran War continues to impact global energy and commodities markets. Piper is somewhat cautious on the tough year-over-year comparisons facing exchanges in Q2, but a continuation of the Iran War is a strong counter.NORTHERN TRUST, DIGITAL ASSET PARTNER FOR CUSTODY CAPABILITIES:Northern Trustannounced Thursday it hasto support the development of custody capabilities for tokenized financial assets. This integration will advance Northern Trust's broader digital asset strategy as the firm continues to evolve its asset servicing model in response to changing market structures. As part of this agreement, Northern Trust will integrate with Canton Network's infrastructure to develop and deploy applications that bridge digital and traditional markets, supporting institutional grade custody and asset servicing workflows for network participants. This move also creates opportunities with other regulated partners and financial services utilities that provide services for digitally issued assets. Northern Trust will utilize its digital assets platform to support custody and asset servicing for tokenized assets issued or transacted on the network."As institutional adoption of digital assets progresses, clients are looking for custody and servicing models that align with established market standards and regulatory expectations," said Guy Gibson, co‑president, Asset Servicing and head of Institutional Banking and Markets. "Connecting to the Canton Network allows us to extend our asset servicing role into new market structures while maintaining the same principles of scale, control, and risk management that clients expect from Northern Trust."OTHER CRYPTO NEWS:Benchmark startsHoldingswith a BuyBitGo, tradias expandHyperscale DatareportsStrategyacquiresprice target raised to $385 from $350 at TD CowenBitmine ImmersionannouncesCanaanreportsTeraWulfreports preliminaryStrivepurchasesEmpery DigitalsellsBGIN BlockchainannouncesDeFi Technologiesprice target loweredat MaximLM FundingminesHigh Rollerteams with Crypto.com toVisalaunchesBitdeerproducesExodus Movementexpandsfiles lawsuit to compel W3C to complete saleSolunaacquiresfor $16.5MLQR Houseto acquireCypherpunk TechnologiesincreasesMorpheus Research saysTechnology, 'short position justified'CRYPTO STOCK PLAYS:Publicly traded companies in the space include Bit Digital, Coinbase, Core Scientific, Greenidge Generation, Mara Holdings, Strategy, Riot Platformsand TeraWulf.PRICE ACTION:As of time of writing, bitcoin rose roughly 6% this week to $77,225 in U.S. dollars, according to CoinDesk.

Tuesday's crypto-equity tape is driven by regulatory wins and institutional product launches, all unfolding as bitcoinholds gains near $69,000 following Monday's ceasefire-driven short squeeze that forced $273M–$325M in futures liquidations in a single session. Traditional finance is accelerating its digital asset ambitions across the board: a federal trust charter, a major brokerage's spot trading debut, and a futures exchange adding two new altcoin products all hit on the same morning. Stay up on the crypto news that matters with "Crypto Currents," daily from The Fly. Join us at 2 PM ET for your essential briefing on the fast-moving world of cryptocurrency on FlyCast radio.COINBASE WINS CONDITIONAL FEDERAL TRUST CHARTER AS SCHWAB AND SOFI PREPARE CRYPTO LAUNCHES:Coinbasereceived conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish a national trust charter, a development H.C. Wainwright analyst Mike Colonnese described as a bullish structural catalyst that upgrades the exchange's institutional custody credibility from a state-level patchwork to a single federal framework. The conditional approval positions Coinbase as a federally regulated custodian, a designation that could open doors to pension funds, endowments, and sovereign wealth managers currently restricted to federally chartered counterparties. H.C. Wainwright reiterated its Buy rating and $350 price target on Coinbase in its weekly roundup.Charles Schwabin the first half of 2026 through a new dedicated "Schwab Crypto" account.The move brings one of the largest U.S. retail brokerages directly into spot crypto markets, representing a significant new distribution channel for bitcoin and ether liquidity that bypasses dedicated crypto exchanges. SoFi Technologies, an enterprise platform built to unify fiat deposits, payments, and digital assets under its nationally chartered bank structure, an integration play that positions the fintech as a single-rail solution for companies managing both traditional and digital treasury operations.CME GROUP EXPANDS REGULATED CRYPTO DERIVATIVES WITH AVALANCHE AND SUI FUTURES:CME Groupto launch cash-settled avalancheand suifutures on May 4, pending regulatory review, in both standard and micro contract sizes. The exchange noted its regulated crypto suite already covers more than 75% of total crypto market capitalization. CME separately confirmed that 24/7 crypto futures trading will begin May 29, a structural change that aligns crypto derivatives settlement hours with the underlying spot markets and removes the weekend gap risk that has historically created Monday-open price dislocations for equities with crypto treasury exposure.BLACKROCK ROUTES $82M IN BITCOIN TO COINBASE PRIME AS SHORT SQUEEZE CLEARS BEARS:According to on-chain data tracked by Arkham Intelligence and reported by Coinness, BlackRockdeposited 1,178 BTC, approximately $82.25M, into Coinbase Prime on April 6, consistent with routine custody and rebalancing operations for its bitcoin exchange-traded fund. The deposit is part of a documented pattern, BlackRock routed $121M on April 2, $206.5M on March 29, and $260M on March 4 through the same channel, providing a steady, recurring institutional revenue signal for Coinbase's prime brokerage segment. Monday's session also cleared a significant derivatives overhang:that $273.8M in total futures liquidations swept through markets across 81,819 traders, with shorts accounting for $196.7M of that total at a roughly 3:1 ratio versus longs, and the single largest liquidation being a $10.17M ether short on Binance. A dormant bitcoin wallet that had accumulated 513 BTC at an average of $97,542 between January and March 2025, adding incremental sell-side supply even as spot prices held near $69,000.DEFI TECHNOLOGIES POSTS RECORD RESULTS; PAYSAFE LAUNCHES CRYPTO GAMING PAYMENTS:DeFi Technologies, reporting record revenue of $99.1M, a 215% increase year-over-year, and record net income of $62.7M, reversing a $27.6M net loss in 2024. Total cash, treasury holdings, and venture portfolio stood at $178.7M. Paysafe(PSFE)launched "Pay with Crypto," a MoonPay-powered product that enables U.S. iGaming and daily fantasy sports players to deposit using stablecoins or major cryptocurrencies with instant conversion to U.S. dollars,. The integration opens a new recurring revenue stream for Paysafe in one of the fastest-growing segments of regulated online gaming, with crypto deposits offering a friction-free alternative for players blocked by traditional card networks at gambling merchants.TREASURY DISCLOSURES SHOW DIVERSE DIGITAL ASSET ACCUMULATION ACROSS SMALL-CAPS:Bit Digital, valued around $327M as of March 31, with roughly 89% of that supply actively staked and generating approximately 291.3 ETH per month in rewards at a 2.9% annualized yield. The company also holds approximately 27M WhiteFibershares valued at roughly $322M, making the combined crypto and equity portfolio one of the more diversified among listed digital asset companies. Hyperscale Datadisclosedthat its combined bitcoin treasury, valued near $44.1M, comprising 639.2 BTC, plus cash and restricted cash of $57.9M totals approximately $102M, representing 189.92% of its current market capitalization as of the week ended April 5, a deep discount to net asset value that equity value investors may find notable. Eightco Holdingsdisclosed a treasury of approximately 277M worldcointokens, 11,068 ether, an indirect $90M OpenAI stake, and $109M in cash and stablecoins, approximately $326M in total,.PRICE ACTION:As of time of writing, bitcoin was trading at$68,117.46, while ether was trading at$2,079.46,according to price data from TipRanks.

Latest data shows the largest indicative borrow rate increases among liquid option names include: Humacyte (HUMA) 19.23% +1.16, DeFi Development Corp (DFDV) 23.71% +0.78, Defiance Daily Target 2X Long HIMS ETF (HIMZ) 28.05% +0.67, ASP Isotopes Inc (ASPI) 1.97% +0.44, Vodafone (VOD) 9.09% +0.39, Recursion Pharmaceuticals (RXRX) 2.55% +0.35, DEFIANCE DAILY TARGET 2X LONG RIOT ETF (RIOX) 25.64% +0.32, Faraday Future Intelligent Electric Inc (FFAI) 11.15% +0.31, Vistra Energy (VST) 0.46% +0.21, and Bit Digital (BTBT) 0.66% +0.18.