Cryptocurrency markets posted a broad recovery this week, led by gains in major coins, even as investor attention remained focused on the uncertainty of pending US crypto legislation.
Bitcoin (BTC) rose over 5% during the past week to top the $95,000 mark, while Ether (ETH) pumped by around 6.6% on developments related to the top Ethereum treasury companies.
US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) also returned with a bang, with the funds logging four consecutive days of net positive inflows of around $1.7 billion in total, according to Farside Investors.
Despite the price recovery, market sentiment was shaped by developments in Washington. US Senator Cynthia Lummis said the Senate Banking Committee is expected to delay its markup of the long-anticipated CLARITY Act, legislation aimed at establishing a market structure framework for digital assets.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong was among those who expressed concerns over multiple provisions related to tokenized equities and decentralized finance in the existing draft legislation.
Senator Lummis expects delay to crypto market structure markup: Bloomberg
US Senator Cynthia Lummis reportedly expects the US Senate Banking Committee to delay its hearing on crypto market structure legislation after Coinbase withdrew support for the bill.
There were already some murmurs of a CLARITY Act Senate markup delay on Wednesday, which were heightened following an X post from Bloomberg reporter Steven Dennis on Wednesday night. Dennis stated:
“Lummis tells me her recommendation and expectation is that the markup be pulled for now. It’s Banking Chair Tim Scott’s call.”
The Senate markup was scheduled for Thursday at 10:00 am Eastern Time.
Cointelegraph reached out to Scott’s office for comment, but didn’t receive an immediate response.
Lawmakers have been consulting with members of the banking and crypto industries over provisions of the CLARITY Act for several weeks.
BitMine to invest $200 million in YouTuber MrBeast’s Beast Industries
BitMine Immersion Technology has agreed to invest $200 million in Beast Industries, the entertainment company founded by YouTube star Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, in a deal that marks one of BitMine’s biggest non-core equity investments to date.
BitMine will make a $200 million equity investment into Beast Industries, the company announced on Thursday.
Donaldson operates a network of YouTube channels that collectively have more than 450 million subscribers, according to publicly available figures.
“MrBeast and Beast Industries, in our view, is the leading content creator of our generation, with a reach and engagement unmatched with GenZ, GenAlpha and Millennials,” said Thomas Lee, the chairman of BitMine. “Beast Industries is the largest and most innovative creator based platform in the world and our corporate and personal values are strongly aligned.”
The company did not disclose the size of the stake BitMine will acquire, the valuation of Beast Industries or any governance rights tied to the investment.
The companies said the deal is expected to close on Monday.
Perp DEXs will “eat” expensive TradFi in 2026: Delphi Digital
Perpetual decentralized exchanges (DEXs) are gaining traction as traders turn to blockchain-based platforms that promise lower costs and fewer intermediaries than traditional centralized venues.
Perp DEXs are blockchain-based venues for trading perpetual futures contracts, allowing traders to bet on the underlying asset’s price with leverage and without an expiry date.
Crypto research firm Delphi Digital said in its outlook for 2026 that perp DEXs are poised to continue taking market share from traditional finance products. It argued that decentralized infrastructure is structurally more efficient than legacy systems, which it described as fragmented and expensive to operate.
“Now Hyperliquid is building native lending. Perp DEXs could become brokerage, exchange, custodian, bank, and clearinghouse all at once,” wrote Delphi Digital in a Tuesday X post, adding that competitors such as Aster, Lighter and Paradex are “racing to catch up.”
Trump-linked World Liberty brings $3.4 billion stablecoin into crypto lending markets
World Liberty Financial, a decentralized finance project linked to the family of US President Donald Trump, has entered the cryptocurrency lending market, highlighting renewed interest in onchain credit as regulatory clarity improves.
The new product, called World Liberty Markets, launched on Monday and allows users to borrow and lend digital assets, according to a Bloomberg report. The platform is built around USD1, World Liberty’s US dollar–backed stablecoin, alongside its governance token, WLFI.
Users can post collateral, including Ether, a tokenized version of Bitcoin, and major stablecoins such as USD Coin (USDC) and Tether (USDT). The platform is designed to support both lending and borrowing activity within a single onchain marketplace.
World Liberty co-founder Zak Folkman told Bloomberg that additional collateral types will be added over time, potentially including tokenized real-world assets (RWAs). He also said the company is exploring partnerships with prediction markets, cryptocurrency exchanges and real estate platforms.
The lending rollout follows World Liberty’s recent application for a national trust bank charter with the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The company has said the charter would support broader adoption of USD1, which is already being used for cross-border payments and treasury operations.
DeFi quietly breaks up with Discord as scams overwhelm public channels
Decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols are abandoning public Discord servers, arguing that the platform has become more of a liability than a community hub.
The shift drew attention on Wednesday after DeFi lending protocol Morpho said it had moved its public Discord server into read-only mode, directing users instead to alternative support channels. The move reflects growing concern that Discord has become a favored hunting ground for scammers targeting crypto users.
The concern is not limited to Morpho. DeFi data platform DefiLlama’s pseudonymous founder 0xngmi said they have been quietly reducing their reliance on Discord, favoring more controlled communication tools.
Several builders say the goal is to move away from always-on chat rooms toward structured support systems designed to protect users rather than maximize engagement.
DeFi market overview
According to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView, most of the 100 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization ended the week in the green.
The privacy-preserving Dash (DASH) token rose 136% as the week’s biggest gainer, followed by the Monero (XMR) coin, up 49% during the past week.
Total value locked in DeFi. Source: DefiLlama
Thanks for reading our summary of this week’s most impactful DeFi developments. Join us next Friday for more stories, insights and education regarding this dynamically advancing space.
