The Daily: VanEck says slowdown in bitcoin long-term holder selling signals ‘potentially constructive’ trend, Gemini hit with investor lawsuit, and more

The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.

Happy Friday! Markets may be underestimating geopolitical risk, with investors still pricing in a “Trump Always Chickens Out” TACO trade even as prolonged oil disruption above $100 raises the risk of stagflation, Coin Bureau co-founder Nic Puckrin told The Block.

In today’s newsletter, VanEck says slowing bitcoin long-term holder selling signals a “potentially constructive” trend, Gemini gets hit with an investor lawsuit over its post-IPO strategy shift, Morgan Stanley advances its bitcoin ETF application, and more.

Meanwhile, Kalshi has reportedly raised over $1 billion at a $22 billion valuation in an ongoing Coatue-led round.

P.S. Don’t forget to check out The Funding, a biweekly rundown of crypto VC trends. It’s a great read — and just like The Daily, it’s free to subscribe!

Bitcoin long-term holder selling slows, signaling ‘potentially constructive’ trend: VanEck

VanEck said long-term bitcoin holders have reduced selling across all age cohorts, signaling declining distribution pressure from experienced market participants.

• The asset manager’s analysts described the slowdown in long-term holder selling as a “potentially constructive signal” for the broader crypto market.
• Meanwhile, bitcoin miner sales have remained steady, the firm said, despite an 11% drop in revenues and a 7% decline in mining equities month-over-month.
• Miners increased outflows to exchanges by just 1% over the past month, indicating most operators are preserving reserves rather than accelerating liquidations, according to the analysts.
• Aggregate miner balances have only fallen marginally year-over-year as newly mined supply was largely sold to fund operations and capital expenditures, they noted.
• VanEck linked subdued onchain activity and a shift toward AI-focused business models to ongoing capital pressures across the mining sector.

Gemini hit with investor lawsuit over strategy shift as losses widen and layoffs mount

Gemini faces a class-action lawsuit alleging it misled investors about its business strategy before and after its 2025 IPO.

• The firm’s stock has fallen over 80% from its $32 debut to around $6 as its post-IPO pivot unsettled investors.
• Plaintiffs claim Gemini failed to disclose plans to shift toward a prediction markets-focused model while reversing international expansion and cutting roughly 25% of staff.
• The legal challenge comes as losses widened sharply to $582.8 million in 2025 and workforce reductions reached about 30% amid ongoing cost pressures, according to a Thursday shareholder letter from co-founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss.

Morgan Stanley advances bitcoin ETF application with amended S-1 filing

Morgan Stanley filed a second amended S-1 for its proposed spot bitcoin ETF, signaling continued progress in its application with the SEC.

• The filing confirms that Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust intends to list on NYSE Arca under the ticker MSBT.
• The bank also outlined additional launch details, including a 10,000-share basket size and a 50,000-share seed raise expected to generate about $1 million.
• Approval would position Morgan Stanley as the first major U.S. bank to sponsor a spot bitcoin ETF, while adoption remains driven largely by self-directed investors.

Coinbase launches stock perpetual futures for ‘Magnificent 7’ names

Coinbase launched stock perpetual futures for non-U.S. users, offering 24/7 leveraged exposure to major U.S. equities.

• The rollout includes “Magnificent 7” names like Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia, Meta, and Tesla, as well as select ETF products linked to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100, with up to 10x leverage on stocks and 20x on ETFs.
• The move advances Coinbase’s “everything exchange” strategy to integrate crypto, traditional assets, and tokenized markets in one venue.
• The offering also builds on Coinbase’s broader derivatives expansion, including crypto futures trading in Europe, and aims to meet what it describes as growing global demand for always-on, cross-asset trading access.

From $13,700 to $148 million: Bitcoin whale moves 2,100 BTC untouched for over 13 years

A bitcoin wallet moved 2,100 BTC worth about $148 million on Friday that had previously remained untouched for more than 13 years, according to onchain data.

• The holdings were originally received in July 2012 when they were worth just $13,700, marking a more than 10,000x increase in value during the period.
• The transaction appears to be a consolidation of UTXOs with no further movement so far, and the wallet’s owner and intent remain unknown.

Looking ahead to next week

• UK CPI and PPI figures are due on Wednesday alongside U.S. mortgage data. U.S. jobless claims numbers are out on Thursday.
• U.S. FOMC member Mary Daly will speak on Friday.
• Monad, Aerodrome Finance, and Blast are among the crypto projects set for token unlocks.
• Polish Blockchain Week, Next Block Expo, Digital Asset Summit, Crypto Assets Conference, CheatCode, and Stable Summit all get underway.

Never miss a beat with The Block’s daily digest of the most influential events happening across the digital asset ecosystem.

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