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

Bybit Learn

DeFi

Explainers

Altcoins

Ondo Finance is a blockchain finance system that provides users with tokenized versions of real-world assets. Learn more about how it works here.

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) has the potential to turn the real-world financial system on its head. By offering accessible finance products to everyone, 

 can make it much easier for people to get the services they need. One especially promising financial system to explore is Ondo Finance. Their blockchain finance tools offer users a variety of helpful features. To learn more about Ondo Finance's potential applications, read this helpful guide.

 is a blockchain finance system that provides users with tokenized versions of 

. Through Ondo’s decentralized finance system, investors can explore U.S.–based, institutional-grade securities.

, a Stanford University graduate with a focus on economics and business. Allman worked at several traditional finance companies, including Goldman Sachs and ChainStreet Capital. During his time working with hedge funds, Allman became interested in cryptocurrency.

He realized that there was a real need for innovation in the finance industry. Despite crypto being an extremely lucrative industry, many financial institutions were still stuck in the past. Allman founded Ondo as a way of bridging the gap between traditional financial markets and 

 finance. His goal intrigued many other people, and Ondo has managed to obtain 

 from partnerships with Pantera, Wintermute and Coinbase Ventures.

Ondo Finance hopes to build the next generation of financial infrastructure by taking the standard financial system and applying it to cutting-edge blockchain technology. By combining these two concepts, Ondo Finance aims to create a more efficient and accessible market.

Not only does Ondo want to offer U.S.–based securities outside of the United States — it also plans to make products that are even easier to work with than partnering with a standard hedge fund manager. Ondo Finance also intends to implement a decentralized structure that puts users in control, ensuring that decentralized autonomous organizations (

) provide a transparent look at its business operations.

The Ondo Finance system revolves around the idea of tokenized assets. It works with 

, whose traditional assets represent a lot of different securities ranging from government money market funds to high-yield corporate bonds.

Ondo Finance purchases stakes in these traditional assets and then uses its own blockchain system to represent fund stakes as tokens. Each token fluctuates in value based on the value of the real-world assets it represents. Users can buy and sell these tokenized real-world assets through Ondo to trade in U.S.–based securities, without needing to actually buy exchange-traded funds through a traditional hedge manager.

Ondo Finance's features are available in a few different tiers. Depending upon where you live and how much you want to pay, you can explore these various options.

The general-access products of Ondo Finance are the items anyone can explore without having to get heavily involved in other Ondo Finance services like lending protocols or short-term bonds.

USD Yield (USDY), a tokenized real-world asset secured by the U.S. Treasury securities, appeals to 

 holders but also offers some additional earning potential.

 of around 5% APY. In addition to the great interest rates, the USDY token also provides access to helpful investor protections that prevent the coin from losing its value. As long as you aren't in the U.S., you can purchase this coin without needing to sign up for the rest of Ondo Finance's management services.

Ondo Finance has some products that it only offers to qualifying users. These products are mostly available to institutional-grade investors looking for new ways of profiting from items such as short-term bonds.

This tokenized real-world asset provides exposure to money market funds. OMFF is a stablecoin that’s backed by government money market funds. However, since it's tokenized, it's transferable 24/7. OMMF tokens are based on the 

 network. Their main purpose is to be an accessible form of collateral.

 is based on a short-term U.S. Treasuries ETF. This institutional-grade investment is meant to be stable and predictable, and thus appeals to stablecoin holders. Because it includes so many exchange-traded funds managed by experts, it's also designed to be highly liquid. The OUSG fund that backs the OUSG token contains shares from the iShares Short Treasury Bond ETF, along with shares of USDC and real-world USD.

 offers lending protocols for users who need extra crypto assets. This decentralized lending protocol is backed by the OUSG government bond fund and other forms of stable collateral. Users deposit USDC and other stablecoins, and then receive fStables they can use for leveraged trading or other DeFi strategies. 

Interest rates for Flux vary based on market conditions.

The Ondo Token Bridge ensures that all the various tokens on Ondo Finance can easily get where they need to go. This multi-chain bridge lets users transfer their tokens between exchanges and blockchains while still maintaining security.

The Ondo Token Converter allows users to choose from multiple convenient methods of getting the money they earn from yield-bearing Ondo Finance tokens. It lets users deposit USDC to get USDY, and then as the yield accrues, they get more USDY tokens added to their wallet. You can also use the token converter to get tokens that increase in redemption value as you earn a yield.

Since its founding in 2021, Ondo Finance has already successfully released tokenized securities based on a U.S. Treasuries ETF and money market funds. There are also ongoing plans to add more public securities to the blockchain, such as a rebasing version of USDY, and to offer users even more tokenized access to traditional financial markets.

In addition to adding more features, such as the rebasing version of USDY, Ondo Finance hopes to further expand to create an Ondo Ecosystem that will include software development platforms, more DeFi protocols and a decentralized lending protocol.

 is improved adoption. Ondo plans to start marketing its system more extensively, creating more use cases for its tokens. Ultimately, its system hopes to attract more users and turn tokenized assets into one of the leading types of web3 investing.

ONDO offers many different tokens for investors to work with, but its native token, ONDO, is used primarily to vote in the Ondo DAO. A total supply of 10 billion ONDO tokens will be gradually unlocked throughout 2024.

Unlike many other tokens, ONDO doesn’t have a strict token distribution schedule. Instead, Ondo Finance plans on letting the Ondo DAO vote on different distribution schemes and be able to change distribution plans over time. 

 were allocated to investors, while distribution of the remainder will be left up to later Ondo DAO proposals.

ONDO was just released in mid-January of 2024, but its price is already climbing. As of late January 2024, the Ondo Finance token's price has been hovering between $0.20 and $0.30, with its market capitalization around $340 million. DigitalCoinPrice's data analysis 

 by the end of 2024 and $1.91 by 2030, and CoinMarketCap's market sentiment tracker reports an 

. Some enthusiasts posting on X (Twitter) even believe ONDO might hit $1 within the next few months.

However, other analysts have a less positive outlook. CoinEdition points out that token prices are heavily affected by investors selling off ONDO when their tokens unlock, and believes that ONDO 

 in the first quarter of 2024. As with many other new startups, there’s a chance ONDO may be overvalued and could soon face a price correction.

Looking to trade ONDO tokens? Bybit now offers the ONDO/USDT Spot trading pair. To get started with trading ONDO, you’ll need to first establish a Bybit account and fund it with cryptocurrency before navigating to the 

By bringing tokenized securities to blockchain, Ondo Finance has become one of the most unusual DeFi projects of 2024. This has allowed it to attract a lot of attention, and Ondo token holders have already made some impressive profits. If it can attract a lot of institutional investors, ONDO's market capitalization could skyrocket, so it's no surprise that some analysts are calling ONDO one of January’s hottest tokens.

However, ONDO tokens are still quite new. Even small issues, such as an investor selling their tokens, can be enough to affect prices for quite a while, and the financial system is also vulnerable to regulatory changes. Since Ondo Finance is so closely linked to traditional finance markets, shifting laws could devalue its services and cause the price of ONDO tokens to drop. Therefore, ONDO token holders need to exercise caution and implement some 

 strategies before purchasing this crypto asset.

The ability to trade instruments such as government bond funds or high-yield corporate bonds on blockchain has a lot of intriguing applications. Ondo Finance can potentially appeal to both institutional investors looking for DeFi yields and crypto investors seeking to branch out into traditional assets. Even if you aren't interested in tokenized securities, you can still potentially profit from Ondo Finance by trading the Ondo DAO token.

Ondo Finance (ONDO): Yield-Generating Stablecoins in DeFi

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