Coinbase Institutional Report Indicates Possible Crypto Winter Onset

Coinbase Institutional’s report suggests the crypto market may be entering a ‘crypto winter’, highlighting key indicators like drops in total market cap and venture capital funding. Notable developments include DWF Labs investing $25 million in World Liberty Financial, and Kraken expanding U.S. equities trading. Market downturns have led to significant net outflows in crypto funds amidst economic instabilities influenced by tariff policies.

Coinbase Institutional has released a report indicating signs that the cryptocurrency market may be entering a ‘crypto winter.’ Notable indicators include a decline in the total market capitalisation and venture capital funding during the first quarter, coupled with economic uncertainties such as tariff policies and fiscal tightening. The report highlights that both Bitcoin and the COIN50 index have fallen below their 200-day moving averages, a traditional sign of bear market conditions, thus confirming adverse market trends.

In a significant development, DWF Labs has invested $25 million in governance tokens of World Liberty Financial, which is backed by Donald Trump. The investment will help boost the firm’s U.S. presence by establishing a new office in New York City. The initiative aims to enhance partnerships, hire native talent, and support digital asset ventures, particularly in relation to a USD 1 stablecoin within the burgeoning decentralised finance (DeFi) sector.

Metaplanet has issued $10 million in zero-interest bonds, intended to fund Bitcoin acquisitions. This funding will advance earlier plans set out in January 2025, with bond redemption scheduled for October 14, 2025, financed by proceeds from future stock acquisition rights.

Semler Scientific is looking to enhance its Bitcoin holdings and cover corporate expenses through a $500 million securities offering. The company aims to use the raised funds for acquiring additional Bitcoin while managing other corporate needs. At present, Semler holds 3,192 Bitcoin, suffering an unrealised loss of approximately $14 million due to market fluctuations.

The broader cryptocurrency market saw declines, with Bitcoin dropping to $83,600 and other cryptocurrencies such as XRP and Cardano experiencing marked losses. The downturn follows Nvidia’s stock plummeting after a significant charge related to a U.S. government ban on chip sales to China, further triggering a risk-off sentiment among investors.

OKX has announced the launch of its crypto exchange and Web3 Wallet in the U.S., establishing headquarters in San Jose, California. The platform promises advanced trading tools, lower fees, and a secure environment, including a robust KYC process and monthly proof of reserves. The wallet supports over 130 blockchains, featuring a decentralised exchange (DEX) aggregator to improve token accessibility.

A recent AWS outage significantly affected major cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets including Binance and KuCoin. Binance temporarily halted withdrawals but resumed operations shortly after. Service interruptions were observed at KuCoin and MEXC, with issues related to asset transfers and order cancellations, although futures trading remained operational on MEXC.

Janover reported an increase in its Solana (SOL) holdings to approximately $21 million with a major acquisition. This move, aligned with a new treasury strategy, led to a 1700% surge in stock price since embracing a crypto-focused approach, all while continuing commercial real estate operations.

Kraken is expanding its platform to include U.S. equities trading through a partnership with Alpaca, allowing commission-free access to over 11,000 stocks and ETFs. The initiative aims for a national rollout, providing a unified account experience for managing various assets and supporting fractional investments in response to growing demand for efficient trading solutions.

Nvidia is launching its first U.S.-based AI supercomputer manufacturing facilities in Arizona and Texas, collaborating with TSMC, Foxconn, and others. This initiative will focus on mass production and has the potential to create a substantial AI infrastructure worth hundreds of billions over the next four years.

Bybit has integrated Avalon to enhance Bitcoin yield opportunities via a CeDeFi protocol, providing a bridge between centralised and decentralised finance. This approach allows users to leverage Bitcoin-pegged tokens for fixed-rate borrowing and expand yield-generating strategies managed by Ethena Labs.

JPMorgan’s blockchain division, Kinexys, has launched GBP-denominated blockchain deposit accounts in the UK, expanding its real-time payment service. This new offering is designed to enhance cross-border transactions and foreign exchange processes, having already processed over $1.5 trillion in transactions since its inception.

Crypto investment products faced net outflows of $795 million last week, primarily attributed to prevailing unfavourable tariff policies. Cumulatively, the outflows since early February totalled $7.2 billion, diminishing earlier gains in the crypto sector. Despite this, a late-week price surge raised total crypto assets under management to $130 billion, an 8% increment.

The price of the Mantra token on Binance plummeted by 77%, attributed to a significant sell-off by major token holders. This event demonstrated market volatility brought on by influential selling actions in the crypto space.

Waylon Wilcox has pleaded guilty to tax evasion for failing to report over $13 million in profits from selling 97 CryptoPunk NFTs. The case, emphasised by the IRS, underscores the importance of reporting virtual currency transactions as NFT sales come under increasing scrutiny for regulatory compliance.