<div id="readability-page-1" class="page"><div>The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.Happy Wednesday! Crypto markets are still trying to find their footing, as analysts point to fragmentation in liquidity and performance across venues and assets rather than a decisive directional shift.In today's newsletter, bitcoin's continued sell-off revives four-year cycle fears, BitMine chair Tom Lee says the treasury firm's unrealized ETH losses are &#34;a feature, not a bug,&#34; Ripple Prime adds Hyperliquid in its first DeFi integration, and more.Meanwhile, Scott Bessent gets grilled over the Trump-linked DeFi project World Liberty Financial and said the Treasury Department does not have the power to &#34;bail out bitcoin.&#34;P.S. Don't forget to check out The Funding, a biweekly rundown of crypto VC trends. It's a great read — and just like The Daily, it's free to subscribe!'This time is different': Bitcoin drop revives four-year cycle fears, but K33 says another 80% decline is unlikelyBitcoin's BTC approximate 40% drop from its October peak is reviving fears of a classic four-year cycle downturn, even as research and brokerage firm K33 argues the structural backdrop is materially different and a full repeat of past bear markets remains unlikely.<ul><li>While Head of Research Vetle Lunde has long rejected the idea that bitcoin remains bound to a rigid four-year cycle, he said recent price action is showing &#34;unsettling similarities&#34; to the deep sell-offs seen in 2018 and 2022, with market behavior, rather than fundamentals, increasingly driving prices.</li><li>Lunde warned that cycle fears can become self-fulfilling as long-term holders trim exposure and new capital hesitates, amplifying downside pressure despite stronger regulatory tailwinds.</li><li>However, Lunde maintained that &#34;this time is different,&#34; saying he does not expect an 80% peak-to-trough collapse similar to previous cycles, pointing to institutional adoption, an easing rate backdrop, and the absence of forced deleveraging events that amplified losses during the 2022 credit unwind.</li><li>Further, several potential bottoming indicators have begun to flash, Lunde said, including a 90th-percentile spot volume day and extreme negative derivatives positioning following billions of dollars worth of long liquidations.</li><li>Nevertheless, he cautioned that the signals remain inconclusive, flagging the area around $74,000 as a critical support zone and that a break below that level could accelerate downside momentum toward the November 2021 peak near $69,000 or, further out, the 200-week moving average around $58,000.</li></ul>'A feature, not a bug': BitMine chair Tom Lee pushes back on claims unrealized ETH treasury losses will cap pricesBitMine chair Tom Lee said the firm's unrealized ETH losses during the recent downturn are an expected outcome of an Ethereum treasury strategy, not a signal that future prices will be capped.<ul><li>Lee pushed back on claims that BitMine's approximate $6.6 billion in unrealized losses make it &#34;exit liquidity,&#34; arguing the firm is designed to track and outperform ether over a full market cycle rather than trade short-term moves.</li><li>With crypto prices under pressure, he said unrealized losses on ETH holdings are &#34;a feature, not a bug,&#34; likening the situation to index exchange-traded funds that post losses during broad market declines.</li><li>Supporters argue that mNAV dynamics act as a natural circuit breaker, limiting dilutive share issuance during drawdowns and preserving capital for future cycles rather than forcing ETH sales and impacting prices.</li></ul>Ripple adds Hyperliquid to its prime brokerage platform in first DeFi integrationRipple has integrated Hyperliquid into Ripple Prime, marking the prime brokerage platform's first direct DeFi venue connection for institutional clients.<ul><li>Institutions can trade Hyperliquid's onchain derivatives while managing those positions alongside crypto on centralized exchanges as well as other FX and fixed-income exposures, all under a unified risk and margin framework.</li><li>Ripple Prime remains the sole counterparty, sitting between clients and Hyperliquid, so institutions get DeFi access without fragmenting their prime brokerage relationship or counterparty risk.</li><li>Ripple Prime was formed following Ripple's $1.25 billion acquisition of Hidden Road, a multi-asset non-bank prime broker, serving more than 300 institutional clients and clearing more than $3 trillion annually.</li></ul>Bitwise to acquire crypto staking provider Chorus OneBitwise is acquiring Chorus One to expand its institutional staking and yield-generating product lineup, according to Bloomberg.<ul><li>The companies did not disclose financial terms, but Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley said staking represents one of the most compelling growth opportunities for clients holding spot crypto assets.</li><li>Chorus One CEO Brian Fabian Crain told Bloomberg that consolidation had become increasingly inevitable. &#34;It was also clear that staking is best integrated in a larger platform,&#34; he said.</li><li>Chorus One brings roughly $2.2 billion in staked assets and staking infrastructure to Bitwise, following a record year for M&amp;A in 2025.</li></ul>Fidelity's stablecoin FIDD goes live for retail and institutional investorsFidelity has launched its U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin FIDD for both retail and institutional clients, enabling direct purchase and redemption across its platforms.<ul><li>FIDD is issued on Ethereum by Fidelity Digital Assets and can be traded on external crypto exchanges, with reserves managed by Fidelity Management &amp; Research and transferable to any Ethereum mainnet address.</li><li>The rollout follows increased U.S. regulatory clarity under the GENIUS Act and underscores Fidelity's push beyond crypto investment products into issuing onchain financial instruments.</li></ul>In the next 24 hours<ul><li>The Bank of England's latest interest rate decision is due at 7 a.m. ET on Thursday. U.S. jobless claims numbers follow at 8:30 a.m.</li><li>Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey will speak at 7:30 a.m. U.S. FOMC member Raphael Bostic follows at 10:50 a.m.</li><li>Aerodrome Finance and Ethena are among the crypto projects set for token unlocks.</li><li>Digital Assets Forum 2026 kicks off in London.</li></ul>Never miss a beat with The Block's daily digest of the most influential events happening across the digital asset ecosystem.Disclaimer: This article was produced with the assistance of OpenAI’s ChatGPT/xAI’s Grok and reviewed and edited by our editorial team.Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.© 2026 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.</div></div>

The Daily newsletter discusses the current state of crypto markets, highlighting Bitcoin's recent sell-off and fears of a four-year cycle downturn. Tom Lee from BitMine defends unrealized ETH losses as part of a long-term strategy. Ripple integrates Hyperliquid into its prime brokerage platform, enhancing DeFi access for institutions. Bitwise is acquiring Chorus One to expand its staking services, while Fidelity launches its stablecoin FIDD for retail and institutional investors. Analysts suggest that while market behavior is driving prices, the structural backdrop differs from previous cycles, making a significant decline less likely.

- Crypto markets are facing liquidity fragmentation, with analysts noting a lack of clear directional movement.  
- Bitcoin's recent sell-off raises fears of a four-year cycle downturn, though K33 suggests conditions differ from past market behaviors, implying a lower chance of extreme declines.  
- Ripple has integrated Hyperliquid into its brokerage platform for institutional clients, while Bitwise plans to acquire Chorus One to enhance its staking offerings.

The Block

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The Daily: Bitcoin slide renews four-year cycle fears, BitMine’s Tom Lee calls unrealized ETH losses ‘a feature, not a bug,’ and more