Welcome to The Protocol, CoinDesk’s weekly wrap-up of the most important stories in cryptocurrency tech development. We’re Margaux Nijkerk and Sam Kessler, reporters on CoinDesk’s Tech team. In this issue: EigenLayer Finally Ready To Launch Critical …

The U.S. House Financial Services Committee checked the next box in moving toward what Representative Bryan Steil referred to as the “second half” of President Donald Trump’s crypto agenda: a bill to set U.S. crypto market rules for a fully …

Virgil Griffith, a former Ethereum developer jailed for attending a crypto conference in North Korea in 2019, was released from prison and is on his way to a halfway house, according to his lawyer, Alexander Urbelis. Urbelis, general counsel of the …

Crypto exchange Kraken is teaming up with Mastercard to let crypto holders in the UK and Europe spend their digital assets at more than 150 million merchants worldwide, Mastercard announced. Kraken will offer physical and digital debit cards …

The crypto market’s relief rally fizzled out on Tuesday as stocks gave up big early gains and turned lower alongside the Trump administration’s plan to imminently enforce punitive tariffs against China . After staging a brief rally to the $80,000 …

Borrowing demand across decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols plunged sharply in the wake of the recent crypto market turmoil, a sign of widespread deleveraging as crypto investors unwound risky positions. The average U.S. dollar stablecoin yield …

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) axed its crypto unit on Monday, telling staff that the DOJ would be “narrowing” its crypto enforcement activities in accordance with U.S. President Donald Trump’s January executive order on digital assets, which …

Coinbase (COIN) is more than just a crypto trading platform, Wall Street broker Cantor said in a research report Tuesday, initiating coverage of the stock. Cantor assumed coverage of the crypto exchange with an overweight rating and a $245 price …

Bitcoin (BTC) clawed its way back to almost $80,000, staging a relief rally after dipping below $75,000 late Monday and spurring a run-up in major tokens. Dogecoin (DOGE), BNB Chain’s BNB, XRP and Cardano’s ADA rose as much as 10%, alleviating some …

China eased its grip on the yuan (CNY) on Tuesday, allowing it to depreciate beyond a key level, likely in response to President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariffs. Crypto analysts anticipate that the yuan’s depreciation could favor bitcoin (BTC …