We're excited to announce our new format "Crypto Daybook Americas" will replace "First Mover" on Feb. 24. "Crypto Daybook Americas" is your new morning briefing on what happened in crypto markets overnight to equip you with what you'll need to know about during the coming day. It will arrive in your inbox at 7 a.m. ET to kickstart your morning with comprehensive insights and analysis. If you want a preview, "Crypto Daybook Americas" is already being published on the CoinDesk website, so hop over and take a look. You don't need to do anything to sign up, you'll start receiving "Crypto Daybook Americas" automatically when it starts coming out.

CoinDesk 20 Index: 3,195.66 +1.12%
Bitcoin (BTC): $96,356.41 +0.79%
Ether (ETH): $2,735.66 +1.54%
S&P 500: 6,129.58 +0.24%
Gold: $2,944.53 +0.31%
Nikkei 225: 39,164.61 -0.27%

A message from Hex Trust

Bitcoin recovered from its late afternoon plunge in the U.S. and is back above the all too familiar $96,000 level. The broad-market CoinDesk 20 Index bounced 4% from the lows, while Aptos' APT outperformed with double-digit daily gains. BTC, the largest cryptocurrency, has been trading in an excruciatingly narrow range for nearly two weeks. Things might change soon. Well-followed trader Bob Loukas noted: BTC is in the final stretch of its weekly cycle and could find a bottom soon resetting the sentiment, but there's a chance of it first breaking below $90,000. Solana's SOL also rebounded from Tuesday's slows while the LIBRA token saga keeps unfolding. Token co-creator Hayden Davis of Kelsier Ventures claimed in text messages that he bought influence over Argentina's President Javier Milei and his sister, CoinDesk's Danny Nelson reported.

Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, is raising another $2 billion to buy more bitcoin. The largest corporate BTC holderis issuing 0% senior convertible notes maturing in 2030. The announcement, which came after yesterday's stock market close, may have helped bitcoin's rebound on the prospects of fresh demand entering an otherwise muted market.

Semler Scientific (SMLR) gained after it marked up its bitcoin holdings by nearly $29 million last quarter. The medical devices maker adopted the new FASB fair value accounting rule, which requires companies to report digital assets at market value as of the first quarter of 2025. Semler's earnings per share jumped to $3.64 in its fourth-quarter report, with SMLR shares closing 2% up and adding another 2% higher pre-market.

The frenzy that started with U.S. President Donald Trump's TRUMP memecoin and saw traders making and losing millions within minutes, might have finally come crashing down with the LIBRA token fiasco.

LIBRA, a Solana-based project that Argentine President Javier Milei tweeted about on Feb. 14, saw its market cap rise as high as $4.5 billion and then fall more than 80% within a couple of hours as insiders cashed out, leaving many bag holders with massive losses.

The story became an international and political incident over the weekend as Milei deleted his tweet, denied his endorsement and accused the political opposition of mischief. This eventually led to talks of his impeachment and created uncertainty in the country's stock market. Then came an explosive twist to the story.

On Tuesday, CoinDesk broke the news that a key player behind the LIBRA token had bragged about buying access to Milei's inner circle months before.

Although these kinds of kerfuffle for a memecoin are not unusual, how this happened and what followed after the apparent "rug pull" highlighted the risk of unchecked crypto trading and the potential for a reputational hit for the memecoin sector as a whole.

"The LIBRA episode represents what is a potential point of oversaturation for the memecoin space," said Toronto-based crypto platform FRNT Financial. "At this point, the novelty of new projects, after TRUMP and MELANIA, and now LIBRA, has largely worn off."

- Omkar Godbole