Crypto markets recently navigated a period of intense activity, marked by significant advancements in blockchain utility and notable shifts in market sentiment. This eventful day saw a major technological leap aimed at bridging traditional finance with decentralized applications, alongside a widespread market pullback influenced by rekindled global trade tensions.
Chainlink Revolutionizes DeFi with Real-Time Stock Data
In a groundbreaking development, Chainlink has unveiled its 24/5 US Equities Streams, significantly enhancing its Data Streams product. This innovation brings real-time pricing for US stocks and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) directly onto various blockchains. Crucially, this service operates continuously, even outside traditional market hours. By converting market data into cryptographically verified, continuous feeds, Chainlink addresses previous pricing blind spots. This opens up the vast, approximately $80 trillion US equities market for diverse DeFi applications. These include on-chain products such as equity perpetual contracts, prediction markets, and other sophisticated trading tools. Several prominent protocols, including BitMEX, ApeX, Orderly, and HelloTrade, have already integrated this transformative product.
Market Jitters Amidst Renewed Tariff Threats
Conversely, the broader crypto market experienced a defensive turn following renewed discussions surrounding potential tariffs from the Trump administration. Bitcoin (BTC) notably slid below the $90,000 mark. It traded near $89,100, with brief bounce attempts failing to reclaim key levels on intraday charts. Ethereum (ETH) mirrored this trend, slipping under $3,000 and registering close to a 5% daily decline. The selling pressure was pervasive, impacting other major cryptocurrencies. Solana (SOL) fell over 2%, while Ripple’s XRP and Binance Coin (BNB) dropped more than 2% and 4% respectively. This market weakness was largely attributed to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's reaffirmation of tariffs as a core policy tool. He mentioned the possibility of a 10% levy as early as February. Markets interpreted these statements as a confirmation that trade-driven inflation risks are back in focus. Bessent later downplayed the bond market reaction, attributing rising yields to unrelated bond market dynamics in Japan.
