GeckoPulse: Prediction Markets Expansion

Prediction Markets go Live on Coinbase

Coinbase has officially launched its prediction markets offering across all 50 U.S. states, significantly expanding the service after a previously limited rollout.

The service is powered by Kalshi, a prediction market platform regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). 

While Kalshi is the initial provider, Coinbase plans to integrate other platforms in the future.

Coinbase users can manage their prediction market wagers alongside their existing crypto and equities portfolio in a single interface.

Additionally, The platform is designed for accessibility, with minimum trade sizes starting at just $1, which can be funded using US dollars or the USDC stablecoin.

According to Dune Analytics, weekly prediction market volumes have continued to grow exponentially since the start of 2026.

Lido’s stVaults Go Live

Liquid staking protocol Lido Finance has officially launched its stVaults primitive on the Ethereum mainnet as part of its V3 upgrade.

The stVaults framework enables developers and institutions to create bespoke staking environments tailored to their needs.

Unlike the standard Lido pool, users can now customize specific parameters, including node operator selection and fee structures, rather than relying on a single uniform strategy.

However, each stVault will be set up as an opt-in and isolated smart contract to maintain security for other users.

The mainnet launch features a diverse group of early adopters and Day 1 launch partners such as Nansen, Chorus One, and Everstake.

In the past 24 hours, the price of Lido's LDO governance token has risen by 6.3% from $0.40 to $0.43.

Step Funds Stolen

Solana DeFi portfolio app Step Finance had its treasury wallets drained, losing ~$28M worth of SOL.

While it's not clear how the attack happened, the team revealed that the theft was conducted through a 'well-known attack vector,'

As of the latest update, the team is currently working with law enforcement and security teams on the ongoing investigation.

Step Finance's native STEP token has since plunged by 83.7% from $0.024 to $0.004 following the exploit.

Waging War on Bots

OpenAI is taking the fight to X by developing a ‘humans-only’ platform, based on a new report by Forbes.

The new bot-free social media platform will be secured by Worldcoin’s Proof-of-Personhood mechanism.

However, sources say that the bot-free social media site is still very much in its infancy, with only a 10-man team working on the product.

Since the Forbes’ article was published, the price of WLD had surged by 39.1% from $0.46 to a peak of $0.64 earlier today.

And Back Down We Go

Who could have expected this?

The cryptocurrency market has experienced a significant downturn over the last 24 hours, led by sharp declines in Bitcoin and Ethereum.

The world's largest cryptocurrency fell by 6.2% from $88K to $82.5K today, following a tech stock sell-off in the US equity markets.

Similarly, ETH dropped by 7.3% in the past 24 hours from $2,950 to $2,740.

During this time, over $1.7B worth of leveraged positions have been wiped out, according to data from CoinGlass.

Interestingly, the stellar runup in precious metals over the past week has also come to an abrupt halt, as gold prices plunged sharply from their all-time high of $5,600 per ounce to as low as $5,100.

Most altcoins did not fare much better either, with trending tokens such as PIPPIN and PENGUIN falling by 36.7% and 23.7%, respectively.

The newly launched BIRB token from the Moonbirds project has also dropped by 21.1% today after airdrop claims went live for soul-bound token and NFT holders.

From Crisis to Security

ETH left over from unresolved DAO contracts will now be redirected into a long-term security fund.

Griff Green, the co-founder of the Ethereum public goods protocol, Giveth, has clarified that he is launching the DAO Security Fund, with plans to deploy over 75K ETH.

This includes assets tied to the 2016 collapse of The DAO, which would see over $220M in ETH being used to improve Ethereum’s security.

According to Green, most of the ETH will be staked to secure a long-term source of revenue for supporting various security projects.

In Other News

Gemini Launches Privacy Cards. Publicly listed crypto exchange Gemini is launching a crypto card powered by privacy coin, Zcash. Gemini also previously launched three other crypto cards, powered by Bitcoin, Solana and XRP respectively.

The Clawdbot Meltdown. The GitHub and X accounts of viral AI app Clawdbot was hijacked by crypto scammers who used it to pump and promote an unaffiliated CLAWD token which surged to $16M market capitalization before collapsing.

USDAi Launches CHIP Token. The stablecoin backed by AI and graphic cards has announced the launch of their native token, CHIP. Token claims are not yet live but slated for launch by the end of Q1 2026.’

Fidelity Launches Stablecoin. Fidelity Investments, is launching its first stablecoin, the Fidelity Digital Dollar (FIDD) on the Ethereum network. FIDD will launch in early February and be compliant with the US’s new GENIUS Act for stablecoins.

UAE’s First Compliant Stablecoin. Universal Digital Intl Limited has launched USDU, the “only stablecoin registered and permitted for compliant digital-asset settlement in the UAE”.

Is Binance to Blame? OKX CEO and Founder Star Xu released a lengthy X post where he reflects on the impact of the mass liquidation event on October 10. Although he did not explicitly mention Binance, he suggests that they were partly to blame and did not adequately protect their own users.

Tokenization Is the Answer. Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev recalled the 2021 GameStop saga, saying that the buying halt on GME stocks could have been prevented via tokenization. He blamed the outdated settlement infrastructure and advocated tokenization as a potential solution.

Helix’s $400M BTC Forfeiture Finalized. Helix, a darknet Bitcoin mixer, was shut down by US authorities with over $400M in assets seized. Helix was commonly used to launder proceeds from online drug markets and other criminal activities.

The Tulip Flies Higher. Flying Tulip, the upcoming DeFi project developed by Andre Cronje, has raised an additional $75.5M in funding, valuing their project at $1B. Flying Tulip will reportedly be a DeFi superapp, similar to that of Jupiter.

Binance’s Response. Likely in response to previous allegations that Binance had not adequately protected its own users, Binance announced that it would convert $1B stablecoins in its SAFU funds to Bitcoin. The SAFU fund is an insurance fund used to protect users against losses from unexpected incidents like hacks or platform issues.

HYPE Now Live on Solana. HYPE, the native token of Hyperliquid, is now available natively to Solana users through a partnership with bridging protocol Sunrise.

CrossCurve Under Attack. CrossCurve, formerly known as EYWA, announced that its bridge is under attack and that an exploit has drained $3M worth of funds. CrossCurve is founded by Curve Finance founder Michael Egorov.

IP Unlocks Delayed. IP, the native token of Story Protocol, a blockchain focused on intellectual property, announced that it would delay team unlocks of the IP token by another 6 months. This means that selling pressure on the IP token from the team is delayed.

Allegations Against His Excellency. Justin Sun’s ex-girlfriend released a viral post on X accusing the TRX founder, Justin Sun, of identity theft and market manipulation. She stressed that she has receipts and WeChat chat logs and is willing to cooperate with the SEC.

Jupiter x Polymarket. Solana DeFi superapp Jupiter announced a partnership with prediction market Polymarket during their Catlumpur conference event. Users can now place Polymarket wagers on Solana through Jupiter.

Bull Market Cancelled. Binance co-founder CZ spoke about the recent FUD and allegations against him and Binance over 10/10. He blamed the worsening crypto market conditions on these allegations and takes back his thoughts that a “Bitcoin supercycle” was near.

Hyperliquid Prediction Markets?! The HIP-4 upgrade will allow Hyperliquid to introduce “outcome trading”, in other words, prediction markets. HYPE is up 10% on this news.