Ethereum R1 is a new donation-funded, tokenless Layer 2 rollup designed to offer a decentralized, censorship-resistant, and governance-minimized scaling solution for Ethereum

The S&P 500 rose 0.63% Thursday, boosted by strong Meta and Microsoft earnings, but futures slipped Friday as investors awaited the April jobs report and weighed Apple and Amazon tariff concerns. Gold fell to $3,235 as easing trade tensions cut safe-haven demand; markets await US jobs data for rate cut signals. The Coindesk Indices, which tracks the broader crypto market, rose 2.19%, with Bitcoin and Ether up 2.57% and 2.60%, respectively in the past 24 hours. Trade these markets and more with up to 500x leverage on Bybit MT5 using this 

Today's top performer is AR, which gained 16.8% following CloneX's successful migration to Arweave, sponsored by ArDrive.

Arweave (AR), founded in 2017, is a decentralized network for permanent data storage, using blockweave and Proof of Access to ensure long-term accessibility. It offers 200-year storage for a one-time fee, incentivized by AR tokens for miners. The system connects blocks efficiently to preserve and retrieve data, aiming to create a lasting digital knowledge repository. CloneX has successfully 

 to Arweave for permanent storage, with the support of ArDrive, which sponsored the migration of 100 GB of data. The process is nearly complete, with only Animus remaining to undergo decentralization.

Check out the latest prices, charts, and data of 

 is a new donation-funded, tokenless Layer 2 rollup designed to offer a decentralized, censorship-resistant, and governance-minimized scaling solution for Ethereum. Built on open-source code and the Nethermind Surge stack, it emphasizes credible neutrality, public good funding (with all fees burned after 2030), and infrastructure that remains free from VC control or centralized dependencies.

Yesterday, BTC spot ETFs saw $71.1M in total inflows, with $16M from GBTC and $55.1M from other ETFs.

 $BOOP tokens to active Solana memecoin traders and creators who promote memecoins or Solana dapps on X. To claim, users must connect their Solana wallet or X account and launch a free token. The airdrop arrives in 30 days, but growing the token’s market cap can accelerate the reward.

Beginner

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Ethereum R1 offers a decentralized rollup solution for Ethereum

This article dives into Bitcoin liquid staking protocol Lombard Finance, how LBTC works and how you can stake LBTC through Bybit Web3.

Bitcoin stands as the undisputed giant of the cryptocurrency space, commanding the largest market capitalization. Yet, much of its potential remains untapped, often sitting idle as a store of value rather than actively participating in the thriving 

 ecosystem. Lombard Finance aims to change this narrative by unlocking Bitcoin's utility and integrating it seamlessly into DeFi.

Lombard is built upon Babylon, the innovative Bitcoin staking protocol, and is incubated by Polychain Capital. Lombard’s flagship product, 

 (LST) for BTC. This article explores what Lombard Finance is and how LBTC works, and describes the Lombard ecosystem and how you can stake LBTC through Bybit Web3.

 is a liquid staking protocol that focuses on transforming 

's role in the digital economy. Its core mission is to evolve BTC from simply being a store of value — also viewed as 

 — into a productive asset that actively generates yield and participates within DeFi. Currently, a significant portion of Bitcoin's

 sits idle, lacking the native staking capabilities or cross-chain composability seen with assets such as 

Lombard Finance addresses this shortcoming by building on top of 

, a protocol that supports BTC staking without needing 

 or custodians. Babylon allows Bitcoin's economic weight to secure other 

 (PoS) chains and applications, creating a new yield source for holders. Lombard leverages this foundation to offer LBTC, making staked BTC liquid and usable across the DeFi market.

Lombard’s goal is ambitious: to channel Bitcoin's vast liquidity into DeFi. This could potentially double the ecosystem's 

 (TVL) if even a fraction of available BTC is introduced. Lombard believes this integration will catalyze significant growth and create more sustainable market dynamics by making BTC a core, yield-bearing primitive within DeFi.

Founders and investors of Lombard Finance

Lombard Finance was founded in April 2024 by a team with deep expertise within DeFi, drawing talent from established crypto projects like Polychain, Babylon, Argent, Coinbase and Maple. This collective experience underpins the protocol's design and strategic direction.

The project was notably incubated by Polychain Capital, a prominent crypto investment firm that also led Lombard's $16 million seed funding round (which was 

 in July 2024). This round saw participation from a wide array of significant players in the crypto space — including Babylon, dao5, Franklin Templeton, Foresight Ventures, HTX Ventures, Mirana Ventures, Mantle EcoFund, Nomad Capital, OKX Ventures and Robot Ventures — thus highlighting broad industry confidence in Lombard's vision. Strategic partnerships and contributions from exchanges like

 and Bitget are further bolstering its distribution and liquidity aggregation efforts.

LBTC is Lombard Finance's flagship product — a liquid staking token (LST) that represents Bitcoin staked through the Babylon protocol. Designed as a universal liquid BTC standard, LBTC is fully backed 1:1 by native Bitcoin, ensuring its value is directly tied to the underlying asset.

The token is yield-bearing, capturing rewards generated from securing PoS networks via Babylon staking. Crucially, LBTC remains liquid, meaning holders can freely use it across various DeFi applications — such as 

 and automated vaults — without sacrificing their underlying staked positions or associated yield.

LBTC is also designed for cross-chain compatibility, natively minted on supported blockchains like Ethereum, Base and Sui and using secure infrastructure [such as 

]. This avoids the risks associated with traditional bridging or wrapping methods, thus aiming to provide a more secure and seamless way to utilize Bitcoin across the multichain DeFi ecosystem.

Lombard Finance simplifies the process of putting Bitcoin to work within DeFi through its LBTC token. The mechanism is designed with security and user experience in mind, leveraging the Babylon protocol and a robust Security Consortium.

The core benefit of LBTC lies in its ability to unlock multiple layers of value simultaneously. Holders earn native yield from Babylon staking, potentially accrue additional rewards (such as Lombard Lux points) and gain access to diverse DeFi yield opportunities, all while maintaining the liquidity of their Bitcoin position. This transforms BTC from a static asset into a dynamic, yield-generating component of the DeFi ecosystem.

Lombard Finance is actively building a wide LBTC ecosystem that already boasts over 75 DeFi integrations. Security is foundational, anchored by the 14-member Security Consortium (including prominent names like Galaxy and OKX Ventures) and validating all critical operations alongside audits and bug bounties.

Core infrastructure relies both on Babylon for staking, and on the Chainlink CCIP for secure cross-chain movement, with EigenLayer integration 

. LBTC integrates with leading DeFi applications across lending platforms (e.g., 

) and automated vaults. The platform supports multiple blockchains (including Ethereum, Base, Sui, BNB Chain) and 

 (L2s), positioning LBTC as a versatile cross-chain asset.

Here's how you can stake BTC on Lombard and use LBTC in DeFi and automated vaults.

Lombard Finance (via its LBTC token) offers a compelling way for Bitcoin holders to put their assets into use, earn yield via Babylon staking and gain exposure to the expansive DeFi ecosystem — all while maintaining liquidity. Incubated by Polychain Capital and supported by a robust consortium and growing partner network, Lombard is positioning LBTC as a secure and versatile liquid Bitcoin standard.

It’s easy to participate in the Lombard ecosystem through 

, you can utilize your Bybit Web3 Seed Phrase Wallet to stake BTC and mint 

, Lombard's vault token that represents deposits in automated yield strategies. This provides you with a seamless gateway to access Bitcoin liquid staking and DeFi yields.

Ready to unlock your Bitcoin's potential? 

Intermediate

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Lombard Finance: Polychain-backed Bitcoin liquid staking protocol

The cryptocurrency market has entered a phase reminiscent of past altcoin seasons, primarily driven by Bitcoin's recent rebound to the $94K–$96K range. 

Altcoin season might have come with reviveding speculation 

The cryptocurrency market has entered a phase reminiscent of past altcoin seasons, primarily driven by Bitcoin's recent rebound to the $94K–$96K range. This resurgence has sparked renewed interest among retail traders, shifting focus from Bitcoin to smaller, more speculative altcoins. The overall market saw a 10% increase in value during the final eight days of April, contrasting with Bitcoin's 7% gain. This trend indicates a growing appetite for risk among investors, particularly in meme coins, which have seen a surge in social media discussions.

However, caution is warranted as elevated crowd enthusiasm often precedes market corrections. Historical patterns suggest that when buzzwords like "altseason" are dominating discussions, it may signal an impending price exhaustion. The current market dynamics reflect a shift toward speculative investments, raising concerns about the sustainability of this enthusiasm.

Bitcoin's bullish sentiment substantially improves

Bitcoin's position as the leading cryptocurrency has remained steady, with discussions around its price fluctuating significantly. Following a period of pessimism, when predictions dipped as low as $10K–$69K, sentiment shifted dramatically with the price recovery. Now, optimistic projections of $100K–$159K are dominating conversations, indicating a reversal in trader sentiment.

Despite Bitcoin's consistent presence in market discussions (approximately 25% of asset topics), the ratio of bullish-to-bearish commentary has grown increasingly favorable. This suggests a growing confidence among traders bolstered by Bitcoin's recent performance. However, it’s essential to monitor whether this bullish sentiment translates into sustained investment, or if it leads to overconfidence that may trigger a market pullback.

Ethere, once a robust contender in the altcoin arena, has struggled to regain retail investor confidence despite recent bullish commentary and promises of innovation from co-founder Vitalik Buterin. Its social media presence has dwindled to about 6–7% of discussions, a significant drop from previous years. This decline highlights the challenges Ethereum faces in re-establishing itself as a go-to investment in a market increasingly dominated by speculative assets.

Conversely, XRP has seen a notable increase in optimism surrounding ETF approvals, with expectations rising to 85%. This shift reflects a broader trend of institutional interest in cryptocurrencies, potentially paving the way for significant capital inflows. Meanwhile, Dogecoin's potential ETF listings have sparked renewed interest, transforming its image from that of a meme coin to a legitimate investment option. The growing dialogue surrounding institutional adoption of Dogecoin and XRP indicates a pivotal moment for these assets, suggesting they may play critical roles in the evolving cryptocurrency landscape.

Advanced

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Bybit x Santiment social sentiment report: Altcoin sentiment recovers despite Bitcoin’s resilience

Bybit Spread Trading allows traders to simultaneously buy and sell two related instruments in order to hedge risk or profit from price discrepancies. Read more.

Whether markets are flying high or wobbling unpredictably, one thing remains true: traders are always looking for smarter ways to 

 and find profit opportunities. That’s where Bybit Spread Trading comes in. This feature is tailor-made for those who want to go beyond basic buy/sell plays and start taking advantage of price discrepancies between related instruments. In this guide, we’ll walk through exactly how Bybit Spread Trading works, why it matters and how you can start using it today, whether you’re 

is a newly launched Bybit feature that allows users to simultaneously buy and sell two related instruments — such as Spot, Perpetual or Expiry contracts with different settlement dates — in order to hedge risk or profit from price discrepancies.

This type of trading strategy is popular among institutional and professional traders because it enables more precise, controlled market exposure. However, with Bybit’s interface, the barrier to entry is significantly lowered, opening the door for individual traders to tap with just a few clicks into a powerful set of tools.

At its core, Spread Trading on Bybit is about executing what’s called a combo trade. This means entering two positions at once: one long, one short. These positions are taken on related instruments, such as a BTC Spot trade and a BTC Perpetual contract, with the idea that their prices will either converge or diverge in a way that benefits your position.

When you place a buy combo, you’re buying the instrument with the longer expiration (the “far leg”) and selling the one that expires sooner (the “near leg”). 

A sell combo is the reverse: selling the far leg and buying the near leg. The profit (or loss) comes from how the spread between these two instruments shifts over time.

For example, if you believe the spread between a Perpetual and a Quarterly Futures contract will widen, you can buy the combo. If the spread increases after your entry, that movement becomes your profit. Bybit calculates your 

 prices automatically, based on the mark prices and your defined “order price,” so there’s no need to manually crunch the numbers.

Perhaps the most important feature here is atomic execution. This ensures both sides of your combo trade are filled together, in equal quantities, or the trade doesn’t go through at all. It removes “leg risk,” which is the danger of getting filled on one side of the trade, but not the other. In volatile markets, that alone can save you from an unwanted mess.

Spread Trading on Bybit currently supports combinations such as Spot and Perpetual, Spot and Expiry, Perpetual and Expiry, or even two Expiry contracts with different dates. This flexibility lets you build strategies that align with different market outlooks — bullish, bearish or neutral.

There’s a strong reason why Spread Trading is a go-to for many experienced traders: it allows for strategic plays that are more sophisticated than just guessing price direction. On Bybit, it’s not only powerful, but also convenient.

First, you get price certainty. Your spread is locked in at the price you specify. There’s no 

 between legs because the entry prices are automatically calculated and matched. You’re trading the spread, not the individual legs.

Secondly, the trading experience is smoother. Instead of placing two separate orders and manually trying to sync them, Bybit handles everything as a single transaction. You don’t have to worry about whether one leg gets filled and the other doesn’t — that risk is eliminated through atomic execution.

Third, this setup is a great hedge against volatility. By taking opposing positions on two related contracts, you reduce exposure to sharp price movements. Your P&L becomes more about the relative performance between contracts, rather than the market direction itself.

There’s also a strong cost advantage. Trading spreads on Bybit is significantly cheaper than doing it manually. You pay only half the trading fees you’d incur if you placed two individual trades on the order book. For high-volume or 

, that translates to meaningful savings over time.

Finally, it unlocks strategy flexibility. Whether you're 

 funding rates between Spot and Perpetual, doing 

 with different Futures contracts or taking advantage of price convergence before expiry, this platform gives you the tools to execute those ideas efficiently.

How to get started with Bybit Spread Trading 

Now that you have a better understanding of how Bybit Spread Trading works, let’s look into how to get started. Please note that you’ll need to have a Bybit account in order to proceed. If you don’t already have one, please check out our 

 for more information on how to create a Bybit account.

: Log in to your Bybit account and hover your cursor over the 

: The available spreads are organized in a grid, with each tile representing a unique combo. Choose your preferred combo to trade.

Tiles with a border around them signify that Spread Trading offers a better price. Hover over a tile for more details, or use the bar at the bottom of the grid to explore more options.

On the order placement page, set up your order with the following parameters:

to place your order. A pop-up window will appear for you to confirm your order details. Then, click on 

Congratulations — you’ve successfully placed an order!

You can view your Spread Trading orders from any trading page (Spread Trading, Spot and Futures), as they all share the same order data.

 to view your active orders. You’ll be able to view the combo, underlying asset, order price and more. 

If you would like to adjust your order parameters, you may click on the pencil icon under 

. To cancel your order, simply click on the order’s corresponding 

to view your completed orders. To view each order’s information on each leg, click on the order’s corresponding 

button. For additional insights, click on 

Spread trading isn’t for everyone — but if you’re someone who enjoys strategic trading, hedging or arbitrage, it’s a tool worth adding to your arsenal. It appeals to traders who are less interested in taking a directional bet, and more focused on capitalizing on inefficiencies in the market.

You don’t have to be a pro trader to benefit, either. The simplified execution and intuitive UI mean even intermediate users can explore advanced strategies without being overwhelmed. As long as you understand how spreads work, and how your P&L is affected by their movement, you’re already halfway there.

More importantly, in times of market uncertainty or low volatility — when price action feels sluggish — spread trading gives you an alternative way to profit. It keeps you in the game — even when momentum plays aren’t cutting it.

Bybit Spread Trading is a powerful tool that combines simplicity with sophistication. Whether you're looking to hedge, save on fees or experiment with 

 strategies, it offers a clean and user-friendly way to do so. With lower risk, lower costs and plenty of flexibility, Bybit Spread Trading is a smart move for any trader looking to level up their game — especially when markets get messy.

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Bybit Spread Trading: Smart strategies for market swings

DeFi

Altcoins

Ocean Protocol is a decentralized open-source platform offering decentralized data services in an equitable way to power the web3 and AI data economy.

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Modern businesses depend on data to thrive. With the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), data dynamics have greatly improved and become more accurate to benefit society.

However, there’s still a significant imbalance in data distribution among businesses. You’ll find that social network giants like Google and Facebook are drowning in data, while AI startups have innovative AI models but lack access to enough data.

In short, the true power of harnessing AI through data remains in the hands of a few. Such data centralization has multiple disadvantages for society, such as increased data monopoly, biased AI algorithms and higher chances of data breaches.

 to create an innovative system design that will decentralize access and provide ways to monetize data through the use of data NFTs and datatokens. Let’s learn more.

 is a decentralized, open-source platform looking to equip society with the necessary tools and technology to create an equitable data economy in an increasingly AI-driven 

On a higher level, Ocean Protocol aims to use its technology to unlock more equitable data-sharing and monetization opportunities for users, especially in the age of AI, by preserving data sovereignty and increasing its value as a modern-day asset class.

The project is run by the Singapore-based Ocean Protocol foundation and consists of a global team of experts and advisors across the tech and business space. As an open-source project, Ocean Protocol is 

, which enhances inclusivity, innovation and growth through AI on the part of data users and builders.

Ocean Protocol uses the concepts of blockchain technology and decentralized networks powered by 

 to facilitate secure data sharing, profitable data monetization and improved AI models. Its tools tap into 

 to publish and own data, which can then be collaborated and traded through innovative data marketplaces.

. This allows developers to leverage the platform’s tools to create decentralized apps (

) for web3. Furthermore, Ocean Protocol uses 

 to monetize data in a secure and transparent way.

Its native token is OCEAN, which powers the platform’s data exchange functions and incentivizes community governance.

Ocean Protocol provides an on- and off-ramp structure for users to deploy data assets into cryptographic ecosystems. At the heart of the protocol’s operations are the use of datatokens, data NFTs and various access tools to power the process.

Data NFTs are non-fungible (but transferable) ERC-721 tokens, used to create a data service that gives you exclusive rights to publish and own a data asset. On the other hand, a datatoken is a fungible ERC-20 token that allows you to access data services on Ocean Protocol.

One simple way to conceptualize Ocean Protocol's architecture is to think of datatokens and data NFTs acting as interfaces for creating and consuming data assets. The datatokens and data NFTs interact within various applications in Ocean Protocol's architecture, such as Ocean Market, data wallets, data exchanges and more.

First, publishers need to register their data assets on Ocean Protocol. Let’s say you hold a dataset in your Google Drive or on your phone in the form of an URL. You’ll need to register it on the Ocean Protocol blockchain. Then, you can publish it by invoking the Ocean Protocol data NFT factory to deploy a smart contract for the creation of a data NFT against the asset. You can also invoke the smart contract and mint a datatoken against the data NFT to allow data service consumption. Then, run an Ocean Protocol Provider to store and encrypt your URL on-chain.

Meanwhile, consumers will need to send datatokens to the publisher's wallet and make a service request to the Provider. Through the Ocean Protocol network, the purchase request will be processed on-chain, where the encrypted URL will be loaded and decrypted, and the requested service availed to you. Ocean Protocol's data tokenization structure allows data owners to monetize their data, while securing their privacy using various access control tools.

While you can carry out this data access and exchange yourself via the Provider, Ocean Protocol has created the Ocean Market, which provides a more fine-tuned and decentralized process for exchanging data.

Ocean Market is an open-source data marketplace on Ocean Protocol. Think of it as a decentralized exchange (

) for data: it provides a community-based marketplace to connect data providers with data buyers.

Since it’s powered by blockchain technology, exchanging data via Ocean Market has various perks, such as using your 

 to access the service. It’s also transparent and censorship-resistant, and helps you preserve your privacy.

As a data provider or owner, you can publish your data by listing it for sale on Ocean Market through a process called an Initial Data Offering (IDO). Buyers can then use their datatokens to pay for access to the data.

Most of the fees go directly to you (the seller), while the rest of the revenue is distributed among other marketplace participants, such as operators, liquidity providers (stakers) and the Ocean Protocol community.

To price the data, Ocean Market uses the automated market maker (

. Instead of sellers setting arbitrary prices, AMMs automate the price discovery process, in which a datatoken's price rises as more datatokens are bought and falls as more datatokens are sold. 

Furthermore, the AMM-powered data markets give you yet another way to earn from data through 

. You can become a liquidity provider by locking your OCEAN tokens in an Ocean Protocol dataset. The process of adding or removing liquidity from the pool is known as data curating.

By becoming a curator, you’ll receive a fraction of the data swap fees corresponding to the amount you've staked. Hence, as a curator, you'll be incentivized to add liquidity to the most valuable datasets, and to refer other curators to the pools you've staked with to earn more fees..

Let’s look at some of the other features of Ocean Market that enhance its functionality.

Compute-to-Data (C2D) is an integration on Ocean Market that facilitates the trading of private data while preserving privacy. C2D helps balance the advantage of monetizing private data with the risk of compromising one’s privacy and control over it.

With C2D, specific algorithms ensure that during the data exchange, the datasets remain under the owner’s control. Not only does the C2D model benefit data owners through monetization, but it also securely provides AI practitioners valuable access to private data in order to generate more accurate AI models.

Ocean Protocol Data Farming (DF) is designed to spur the growth of Data Consume Volume (DCV) on the Ocean Protocol. It's similar to DeFi 

, but customized for data consumption. To earn data farming (DF) rewards, you need to lock your OCEAN tokens in order to receive veOCEAN tokens. 

Rewards are only distributed in pools with DCV. The higher the DCV, the more rewards you earn. Moreover, the longer you hold your veOCEAN tokens, the higher your bonuses. You can hold veOCEAN tokens for up to four years.

You can earn DF rewards either passively (by default of holding veOCEAN tokens) or actively. For active DF, you can opt to actively curate data by allocating your veOCEAN tokens to pools with a higher DCV. You can also earn actively with DF by predicting the future price of Ethereum (ETH) on a weekly basis.

OCEAN is the native utility and governance token for Ocean Protocol. Its model works as follows:

As of Aug 11, 2023, OCEAN’s price was $0.34, an 82.34% drop from its all-time high price of $1.93 on Apr 10, 2021, and an increase of over 2,500% from its all-time low of $0.013 on Aug 11, 2019.

Price forecasting experts are optimistic about the future price of OCEAN. According to analysts at PricePrediction, 

 and rise to $5.96 in 2030, Another price prediction platform, DigitalCoinPrice, 

, forecasting a price of $1.25 in 2023 that could see $3.64 by 2030.

Can OCEAN hit $10 and $100? While many price forecasting experts believe OCEAN will reach $1 in the near future, the $10 and $100 marks are still far-fetched. According to CoinCodex, OCEAN could potentially 

, but achieving $100 is highly improbable.

Please note that these price outlooks aren’t a guarantee of OCEAN’s future price. We highly recommend you 

 before investing in OCEAN or any other cryptocurrency.

Recent demand for data has surged significantly, particularly in light of AI's growing prominence. Ocean Protocol is strategically positioned to provide a secure, private, transparent and decentralized platform for exchanging and earning from data. The availability of high-volume data through the protocol is attractive to AI researchers and data scientists, who thrive on data to improve the accuracy of their AI models.

Furthermore, Ocean Protocol’s Compute-to-Data integration allows companies to experiment with valuable data while preserving users' privacy. Ocean Protocol also opens up data users to more earning opportunities through data farming.

Based on the increased application of AI in various sectors and the need for preserving the privacy of data, Ocean Protocol is a good investment for the long-term investor.

You can buy OCEAN on Bybit as a USDT Perpetual (

 to create an account and fund your account with USDT. To open a position, click on the 

to open an order. You can select your order preferences (

denominates the order in OCEAN tokens, while

denominates it in USDT). In addition, you can adjust the margin mode of the position by increasing or decreasing it, depending on your risk appetite.

Ocean Protocol aims to provide users with the tools necessary to power a web3 data economy. By using datatokens and data NFTs, Ocean Protocol drives data monetization via secure and decentralized data marketplaces. As more sectors turn to AI models to power their activities, Ocean Protocol will remain a critical player in the crypto ecosystem’s data services niche.

What Is Ocean Protocol (OCEAN): Building a Thriving Data Economy For AI

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