Bitcoin staged a recovery on Thursday after a difficult stretch earlier in the week, climbing back above $70,400 after briefly dipping below $69,000. The rebound came as risk assets broadly recovered following comments from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggesting the conflict with Iran could conclude sooner than widely anticipated. Oil futures, which had swung as much as 15% intraday, reversed lower, easing some of the inflation and macroeconomic pressure that had been weighing on digital assets. Gold slipped 0.5% on the day and continued to underperform Bitcoin over the same period.
Crypto.com announced it is reducing its workforce by approximately 12%, affecting around 180 employees, as part of a strategic shift toward artificial intelligence-driven operations. CEO Kris Marszalek described the restructuring as an enterprise-wide AI pivot, making it one of the more explicit AI-related reorganizations undertaken by a major crypto firm to date. The cuts represent the company’s third workforce reduction in four years. The announcement follows similar job reductions this week at the Algorand Foundation and research firm Messari.
Decentralized exchange Hyperliquid is drawing attention beyond the crypto industry, with analysts at JPMorgan now referencing the platform in research notes. According to a report from The Block, JPMorgan analysts highlighted Hyperliquid’s growing appeal among non-crypto traders seeking around-the-clock exposure to oil markets through perpetual futures contracts. The mention signals that Hyperliquid is increasingly being viewed as a venue for accessing macro-linked products outside standard market hours. Separately, the SEC approved a rule change by Nasdaq that would allow tokenized securities to trade on the exchange.
Prediction markets had a notable day on Thursday, beginning with Major League Baseball naming Polymarket as its exclusive official prediction market partner. The league also signed an integrity framework agreement with the CFTC, establishing a formal channel for sharing confidential information about potential threats to the integrity of baseball-related markets. Commissioner Rob Manfred said the agreements were designed to proactively address the rapidly expanding prediction market space.
In a separate development, the Wall Street Journal reported that Kalshi is raising funds at a valuation of approximately $22 billion, with Coatue Management leading a financing round totaling around $1 billion. Polymarket and Kalshi have each been setting volume records, with the two platforms combined crossing $5 billion in weekly volume for three consecutive weeks. The fundraising figure underscores the scale of institutional capital now flowing into the prediction market sector.
Prediction market platform Myriad also closed a seed investment round, drawing backing from MoonPay Ventures, Auros, EVG, Side Door Ventures, and Verda Ventures, along with individual investors including Fundstrat co-founder Tom Lee, Blondish, and Luca Netz. CEO Loxley Fernandes said the proceeds will be directed toward product development, liquidity improvements, and market expansion. The team characterized the raise as a milestone for the platform. The close comes at a time when prediction markets are attracting growing institutional and mainstream interest, reflected in increasingly large funding rounds across the sector.
Originally reported by Decrypt.
