Bitcoin is back below $8,000 today, dragging down most of the altcoins with it. Virtually the entire market is down with figures ranging from 1% to 3%, though Holochain and BSV are exceptions with +5% and +2% performances on the day.

Stablecoin provider Tether is considering creating an algorithmic alternative to its popular USDT token – possibly allowing traders to use cryptocurrency as collateral – as a means to provide another route to issue and trade USD-pegged assets.

Paolo Ardoino, CTO of Tether and affiliated exchange Bitfinex, told Crypto Briefing the company was researching a new algorithmic stablecoin, possibly to be known as the ‘USDTX’.

BlockFi has formally announced the introduction of BlockFi Institutional Services. Previously a retail hodler-focused company, it is now introducing enterprise-grade financing solutions for digital assets for institutional investors like market-makers, funds, exchanges, and family offices.

Binance has just upped the ante as the futures trading platform raises the bar with a new 125X leverage option on Bitcoin futures contracts.

If you seek to profit from falling Bitcoin prices, or you simply find the current levels of volatility to not be stimulating enough, the Binance futures trading platform is available for short or long contracts that are bigger — and riskier — than ever offered before.

Proving the origin and authenticity of retail products has often been proposed as one of the key use cases of blockchain, but it was largely the turf of companies like VeChain and recently, IBM. Cardano is now jumping into this field with both feet through a collaboration with New Balance, the athletic wear and sneaker brand.

SingularityNET has announced a collaboration with TODA to host its decentralized AI marketplace on the platform. Dubbed Singularity-on-TODA, the new platform will replace all Ethereum-based payment channels with TODA, providing an additional option for agents to conduct their business on. The two platforms will remain separate, however.

BlockFi has revealed the current state of crypto interest among institutional investors. They found that while interest was healthy and growing, it pales in comparison to the segment of the market that was not interested, or in the consideration stage.

It appears the UK’s financial watchdog is laying the groundwork to regulate crypto as it starts requesting blockchain companies to register with them. The catch is these companies will need to take a leap of faith, as they’ll be committing themselves to a framework that hasn’t actually been finalized yet.

Cryptocurrencies are recovering somewhat today, as we alluded to yesterday. While Bitcoin is still weak at slightly above $8,000, the altcoin thawing continues with a few outliers leading the way.

The dreaded hard fork; a point of no return for many contentious blockchain splits in the past. But in the case of the QTUM network, it’s all a part of the plan.