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

Investing

Trading

Bitcoin

Bitcoin dominance refers to the ratio between the market capitalization of BTC to the total market cap of the crypto market. Learn how to utilize this metric to make a solid investment decision.

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With an exponential increase in the number of available cryptocurrencies, traders are constantly seeking new tools and indicators to discover trends in the crypto market. One such indicator is the Bitcoin (BTC) dominance ratio, which is primarily used to spot possible trends in the 

 market, bull markets and Bitcoin rallies to identify trading opportunities.

In this article, we’ll be discussing Bitcoin dominance, how it’s derived, factors affecting it — and the potential trading opportunities you can find by using it.

Bitcoin dominance is the ratio between the 

 (market cap) of Bitcoin to the market cap of the entire cryptocurrency market. It’s also known as the Bitcoin dominance ratio and Bitcoin dominance index. When we compare this ratio to the trend of Bitcoin itself, we can learn more about opportunities the current market environment offers.

What Is Cryptocurrency Market Capitalization?

For a better understanding of Bitcoin dominance, let’s start with market cap. This term refers to the total market value of a cryptocurrency, and can be calculated by multiplying the number of coins or tokens in circulation by their current market price. For example, given that there are 19,348,206 bitcoins in circulation, and that each Bitcoin is priced at $29,992.29, the total Bitcoin market cap can be calculated using the following equation:

Total Bitcoin market cap = Number of bitcoins in circulation × Bitcoin price

Bitcoin dominance can be calculated by taking Bitcoin’s market cap divided by the entire cryptocurrency market cap, thereby giving a percentage value.

At the time of writing (Apr 18, 2023), Bitcoin dominance is calculated to be 45.27% based on the following figures:

This percentage determines the value of Bitcoin to that of the total cryptocurrency market.

Relationship Between Bitcoin Dominance and Market Cap

Bitcoin dominance uses Bitcoin’s market cap and the total cryptocurrency market cap in its calculation.

It’s straightforward to determine and chart both of the figures used in this ratio. Below, we see the Bitcoin market cap (left chart), the total cryptocurrency market cap (middle chart) and Bitcoin dominance (right chart).

Generally speaking, the shape and direction of the total crypto market cap will follow that of Bitcoin. This is partly due to Bitcoin’s influence over the entire crypto market, since it’s the first, largest and most widely recognized cryptocurrency. Hence, when users look to enter the cryptocurrency market, they typically begin by buying Bitcoin because it’s the most popular cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin started off with a dominance of approximately 99% when it was first created in 2009. Since then, this value has fluctuated dramatically. Here are some of the key factors that affect Bitcoin dominance.

Bitcoin’s market cap represents the numerator of the Bitcoin dominance ratio. Since the number of bitcoins in circulation is fairly steady because 

 can be mined, the biggest influence on Bitcoin’s market cap is its price.

The relationship between Bitcoin’s price and market cap can be seen in the chart above.

Notice that the market cap closely follows and resembles the movement in Bitcoin’s price. As Bitcoin’s price trends higher, its market cap trends higher proportionately.

However, just because Bitcoin’s market cap is trending higher doesn’t mean that Bitcoin dominance is increasing. Bitcoin’s market cap is just the numerator of the ratio. The speed at which Bitcoin’s market cap is moving is compared to the second biggest influencer of the ratio: the altcoin market cap.

The term “altcoins” refers to any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin. Unlike Bitcoin, which was created to facilitate peer-to-peer payment, altcoins are created for a much more diverse set of use cases. Examples of altcoin use cases include 

As the demand for cryptocurrencies increases, more users are entering the cryptocurrency market by minting 

. When these stablecoins are minted, their market caps increase, further increasing the total altcoin market cap.

In addition, during volatile market conditions, users may choose to take profit and keep their capital in stablecoins. They may also keep their capital in the form of stablecoins to prepare for deployment into the markets, which decreases Bitcoin dominance.

Bitcoin dominance tends to decrease during bull markets because users are generally more risk-averse and speculative, causing them to deploy their capital into altcoins to capture profits from the upward price movements.

Conversely, users may choose to denominate their assets in Bitcoin during a bear market, looking toward Bitcoin as a form of safe haven. This increases Bitcoin dominance.

When new cryptocurrencies are created and enter the cryptocurrency market, they inherently increase the altcoin market cap. Hence,  Bitcoin dominance will decrease slightly whenever such cryptocurrencies are launched.

There are many ways to use BTC dominance to trade. By understanding the ratio between Bitcoin and altcoins, you can identify which category has a stronger trend in order to look for trading opportunities. You can also keep an eye out for the extreme values of Bitcoin dominance to trade.

“Altcoin Season” describes a period when the price of altcoins increases in comparison to that of Bitcoin. Altcoin Season typically follows after Bitcoin has experienced a significant increase in price, and investors look toward diverting their profits to other cryptos, which kick-starts Altcoin Season.

First, determine the trend of BTC dominance. You can use 

Second, determine the price trend of Bitcoin in a similar time frame.

Finally, use this table to help you determine a strategic bias.

Once the bias has been established, you can identify trading opportunities using 

Strategy 2: Trading Extreme High and Low Bitcoin Dominance Levels

 boom) and 2021 (DeFi Summer), Bitcoin dominance reached a high of 75% and a low of 35%. These two values are regarded as the extreme historical Bitcoin dominance levels.

One strategy that traders can employ would be to trade these extremes. When Bitcoin dominance inches toward 75%, there might be an expectation that BTC’s price will fall soon. On the other hand, when Bitcoin dominance decreases and reaches close to historically low levels, you can expect an imminent change in Bitcoin price movement to the upside.

You can use the table above as a guide to determine which markets to focus on when BTC dominance is at risk for a reversal.

Bitcoin dominance seldom reaches these historic highs and lows. However, when the ratio does reach extreme levels, it can offer some good trading opportunities. It’s important to manage your risk because the ratio has been known to breach these levels.

When Bitcoin was first launched in 2009, the cryptocurrency market was still a small one with relatively few cryptocurrencies available. At that time, Bitcoin dominance was approximately 99%. After four years, in 2013, more cryptocurrencies started to launch, pushing Bitcoin dominance down slightly to 94%.

 kicked off an initial coin offering (ICO) boom in which thousands of cryptocurrencies were launched into the market. This increase in altcoin market cap was further accentuated, given widespread market participation in such ICOs. 

With increasing cryptocurrency prices (from increased user demand), the altcoin market cap rocketed, dropping Bitcoin dominance to 38% in 2018. 

Following the drastic decrease in Bitcoin dominance, a bear market followed. Many altcoins from the ICO boom died out, decreasing the altcoin market cap. In the meantime, more people rotated their capital back into Bitcoin, seen as a safe haven in the bear market. These market conditions contributed to recovering Bitcoin dominance.

DeFi Summer arrived in 2021, and the yields offered by the altcoin market prompted traders to shift their capital into altcoins. This drastically increased the altcoin market cap, reducing Bitcoin dominance to below 50%.

During the year of 2022, Bitcoin dominance hovered between 40% to 50%. With the utility brought about by altcoins, including real world assets (RWA) and DeFi applications such as 

, the market still had the bulk of their capital allocated to such yield generating cryptocurrencies. As a result, the capital hardly rotated back into Bitcoin, resulting in the Bitcoin dominance being relatively stagnant. 

Despite being a popular indicator, Bitcoin dominance has received its fair share of criticism. 

Constantly Increasing Cryptocurrency Market Cap

As mentioned earlier on, Bitcoin dominance trends downward when new cryptocurrencies are being launched. Given that new protocols and projects are consistently being built and launched, there has been criticism regarding the reliability of Bitcoin dominance over the long term.

Bitcoin (BTC) Dominance: How It Changes the Way You Trade Crypto

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Bitcoin (BTC) Dominance: How It Changes the Way You Trade Crypto

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