The Secret Deals Driving Crypto Markets…and Leeching Into Wall Street
Crypto markets have always been volatile. For years, we’ve blamed speculation, low liquidity and hype cycles for the whiplash pricing of altcoins (crypto tokens outside of the leading digital assets Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana). But there’s an opaque force that exerts just as much influence: private market-making agreements.
These deals often determine which tokens thrive and which collapse. And over the years, there have been far more failures than successes.
Now, Wall Street firms are accelerating their exposure to crypto, investing in increasingly fringe assets and even adding them to corporate treasuries. Public companies Strategy (MSTR) and Metaplanet (3350.T) have amassed holdings of nearly $73 billion and $2 billion, respectively,…
