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Avalanche Bridge Launches Native Bitcoin Support; AVAX Surges 7.4%
The AVAX token is beginning to gain some upside momentum despite a drop-off in DeFi activity.
Updated May 11, 2023, 5:38 p.m. Published Jun 23, 2022, 1:12 p.m.
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Smart contracts platform Avalanche added support for native bitcoin in its cross-chain bridge, according to a blog post.
- The network's native token, AVAX, surged 7.4%, outperforming bitcoin and ether , which are up 0.64% and 2.34%, respectively.
- The addition allows users to bridge native bitcoin and gain exposure to Avalanche's DeFi ecosystem by using the newly launched 'Core' wallet.
- The BTC pool on AVAX-based decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Platypus has $11.7 million in total value locked (TVL) and offers yields of between 23.72% and 62.84%.
- A BTC.b to AVAX pool has also opened up on rival platform TraderJoe with yields of 17.5%.
- The Avalanche bridge launched last August, supporting transfers of ERC20 tokens between the Ethereum and Avalanche networks.
- There is currently $2.68 billion in TVL across the Avalanche ecosystem, according to DefiLlama, which marks an $11 billion drop from December as the DeFi sector recedes amid concerns over lending protocols.
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KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.
What to know:
- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
- This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
- Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
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Coinbase CEO says Big banks now view crypto as an ‘existential’ threat to their business
Brian Armstrong returns from World Economic Forum with message: traditional finance is taking crypto seriously
What to know:
- Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said a top executive at one of the world’s 10 largest banks told him crypto is now the bank’s “number one priority” and an “existential” issue.
- At Davos, Armstrong highlighted tokenization of assets and stablecoins as major themes, arguing they could broaden access to investments for billions while threatening to bypass traditional banks.
- He described the Trump administration as the most crypto-forward government globally, backing efforts like the CLARITY Act, and predicted that AI agents will increasingly use stablecoins for payments outside conventional banking rails.
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