Op Ed: Lower Highs and Lower Lows, Bears Still Dominate Crypto Markets 1299

A third dip was almost expected, when crypto markets fall they fall fast, 9% has been shaved off all cryptocurrencies in 24 hours. Anyone living in the crypto sphere for a year or more will be used to these cycles by now. Those new to it in the past three months are likely to have panic sold, licking their wounds and exacerbating the current slide.

Fundamentals and news has a big impact, especially on the uninitiated and those new to trading in general. This week the news has been a mix of good and bad, and by now we should be used to web monopolies throwing their weight around and censoring ads they don’t approve of. If anything this should be good news for the well-established cryptocurrencies and blockchain companies that do not need to advertise on social media. It should not cause the panic selling we see time and time again in crypto land.

Lower Highs Lower Lows

The sure sign of a bear dominated market is lower highs and lower lows. This is the longest period of no higher highs since 2016. The first big dip came on Jan 17 when markets plummeted from over $830 billion to $430b, that was a loss of almost 50% in just ten days. Following that was the crash of February 6 when total market capitalization fell to $280b, the recovery took markets up to $515b which was nowhere near that after January’s crash when they returned to $630b pretty quickly.

Next came the fall of March 18 when markets hit a new 2018 low of $275b, returning to a lower high of around $355b on March 21 before collapsing again. The $275-$280 billion level is a key support line so if this current decline falls lower than that it could drop a lot further. However if markets can rally above the last previous high it may be a sign of a reversal.

Bitcoin Market Dominance Increases

Altcoin hodlers are getting hammered at the moment as Bitcoin’s market dominance heads back towards 50%. Since March last year BTC has lost ground to altcoins which have been steadily eating away at its market share. The low point was around the January spike when BTC dropped to 32% however it has been clawing back its market dominance ever since, largely at the expense of Ethereum which has shed almost 50% in a month. Currently Bitcoin has just under 45% market dominance and it does not look like this is about to change.

The next few days will be critical for crypto markets. Currently the total market cap is hovering around $300 billion, if it drops below $275 billion there could be tougher times ahead and this bear run may not be over yet. Conversely a rebound above $355 billion and a new higher high may spell brighter days in crypto land.

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Jacobi Launches Suite of AI-Assisted Coding Resources to Accelerate Custom Investment Technology Development 1541

Jacobi Strategies (Jacobi), a global leader in investment technology, today announced the launch of its AI-Assisted Coding Resources, a powerful new suite of tools designed to help investment teams rapidly build, standardize, and scale bespoke analytics and applications within their secure, private Jacobi environment.

Jacobi’s new AI resources enable investment firms to standardize the development process, enabling complex, production-grade solutions to be built with unprecedented speed and consistency. Developers can now leverage modern AI assistants like GitHub Copilot, Cursor, and Claude Code within their secure Jacobi instance. Key features include:

  • Jacobi Rules: Provides essential global context, ensuring AI-generated code adheres to Jacobi’s recommended architecture, development patterns, and language-specific coding standards.
  • Jacobi Skills: Offers procedural, multi-step instructions for common tasks, such as creating new plugins, querying internal data, and implementing complex modeling.
  • Jacobi Model Context Protocol Server: Acts as a secure, open-standard bridge that allows AI tools to safely interact with Jacobi APIs, explore data schemas, retrieve system objects and control platform actions through natural-language prompts.

Building on a Foundation of Security and Governance

These AI capabilities are delivered via Jacobi’s Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS). Each client receives a private instance – including cloud infrastructure, horizontal scaling, and dedicated containerization – ensuring proprietary models and data remain within a secure, governed perimeter.

Unlocking Next-Generation AI Agents for Investment Teams

The release coincides with the launch of new Jacobi AI agents integrated directly into the platform. Built for the rigorous demands of institutional managers, these “next generation” agents execute complex, multi-step workflows where precision is mandatory.

By combining Jacobi’s AI-assisted coding resources with its IaaS, firms can rapidly build, scale, and govern custom tools. These tools – which include Jacobi Graph Scripts for modular analytics and visualizations, alongside full end-to-end applications – can then be seamlessly deployed across connected workflows using agents internal or external to the Jacobi ecosystem.

This launch reinforces Jacobi’s commitment to open-architecture, API-first design, allowing clients to seamlessly integrate Jacobi-driven tools into their broader enterprise systems while maintaining total control over their IP.

Tony Mackenzie, Co-Founder and CEO of Jacobi, commented:

“Our AI-assisted coding resources are not designed to replace investment expertise, but to empower it. By providing a secure environment for custom analytics and applications, we remove the trade-off between in-house flexibility and enterprise-grade security.

A significant gap remains between individual AI adoption and enterprise-level use, which requires heightened control over standards and security. Jacobi’s scalable infrastructure and experience with top-tier asset managers makes our technology uniquely suited to firms moving beyond prototyping towards delivery of robust AI solutions.”

About Jacobi

Jacobi provides a secure, private investment technology allowing firms to harness modern AI to scale portfolio construction, analytics and investment workflows. Its open architecture technology empowers several of the world’s leading investment managers to build differentiated tools and models on top of a robust, investment-specific data foundation.

dxFeed Elevates Real-Time Market Intelligence with the Next-Generation Grenadier 2093

dxFeed, a global provider of market data and financial technology solutions, announced a major upgrade to Grenadier, introducing the second generation of its AI-powered anomaly detection technology. The new implementation is powered by an upgraded asset-class agnostic model family and architected to be compatible with a broad range of market instruments.

The enhanced release significantly expands both coverage and performance, and delivers full real-time coverage of U.S. equities order books with performance designed to continuously scan the entire symbol universe at scale.

Built on unsupervised deep learning (not LLM-based), Grenadier is engineered to uncover hidden microstructural signals associated with forthcoming volatility and market-moving events. The new generation reflects substantial work on scalability, model robustness, and production readiness for institutional environments.

Addressing Hidden Market Risks in Real Time

Electronic markets produce massive volumes of Level 2 order book data, making early detection of abnormal behavior increasingly challenging. Grenadier continuously analyzes order book states and generates normalized anomaly scores that highlight unusual structural patterns.

The solution is designed to help market participants detect signals that may otherwise remain invisible until volatility materializes.

Key Capabilities:

  • Proprietary Deep Learning Model

Grenadier processes Level 2 order book data using dxFeed’s in-house unsupervised models, producing anomaly scores on an intuitive scale to support quantitative and discretionary workflows.

  • Real-Time Monitoring at Scale

The platform supports continuous anomaly detection across multiple instruments and portfolios via professional-grade APIs and user interfaces.

  • Order Book Reconstruction

The system compares observed order books with model-inferred states, enabling users to identify structural irregularities and hidden liquidity dynamics.

  • High-Performance Architecture

Engineered for demanding environments, Grenadier handles high request volumes with low-latency responsiveness, enabling broad real-time market coverage.

  • Flexible Deployment Options

For clients operating their own data environments, the technology can be deployed on-premises, supporting regulated and latency-sensitive use cases.

The solution visualizes original and reconstructed order books side by side and delivers actionable anomaly alerts tailored for:

  • Professional traders
  • Quantitative analysts
  • Portfolio managers
  • Risk teams

“Grenadier combines proprietary modeling know-how with high-scale training capabilities on dxFeed’s deep historical data resources,” said Anton Antonov, Head of AI and Quant Research at dxFeed. “To date, we are not aware of directly comparable solutions providing microstructural real-time anomaly detection at similar scale.”

Recognition and Availability

Grenadier is available via dedicated APIs, as streaming subscriptions, dxFeed Widgets, or standalone interfaces. Institutional clients can request trials and integration support directly from dxFeed.

The solution has already attracted industry attention and professional recognition. Most recently, dxFeed Grenadier has been chosen as a Finalist at the 2025 Benzinga Capital Conference: Fintech Day & Awards, underscoring the product’s growing visibility and validation within the fintech community.

Part of dxFeed’s Expanding AI Portfolio

Grenadier is part of dxFeed’s broader AI strategy. The company also offers SummerFox, an award-winning AI-powered market intelligence engine designed to help portfolio managers, analysts, and advisors transform fragmented market data into unified, actionable narratives and reduce information overload.

About dxFeed

dxFeed is a leading market data provider and calculation agent for the global capital markets, named Best Data Provider 2025 by the Fund Intelligence Operations and Services Awards. The company delivers high-quality financial data and services to brokerages, prop traders, exchanges, professional traders, and academic institutions. dxFeed is focused on enhancing AI- and IaaS-driven solutions, while reinforcing its commitment to reliable service provision, compliance and best support.

QuickFund AI Expands Access to Structured Capital for Independent Traders 2298

QuickFund AI (Powered by TruTrade), a proprietary trading capital platform focused on structured trader evaluation and disciplined capital allocation, today announced the continued expansion of its funding framework designed to provide independent traders with access to structured trading capital.

As global markets experience heightened volatility and rapid directional shifts, demand for disciplined capital access models has increased. QuickFund AI’s approach centers on clearly defined risk parameters, structured evaluation standards, and systematic oversight intended to promote responsible participation in modern financial markets.

Rather than offering unrestricted capital access, QuickFund AI utilizes a rules-based evaluation process designed to assess consistency, risk management discipline, and adherence to defined trading parameters. The company states that its model prioritizes structured performance metrics and governance standards to ensure capital allocation aligns with clearly established guidelines.

“Our objective is to expand access to capital through structure, not speculation,” said a QuickFund AI spokesperson. “Independent traders often lack institutional-level infrastructure and oversight. By implementing clearly defined evaluation criteria and disciplined risk controls, we aim to create a framework that supports responsible capital deployment in volatile environments.”

QuickFund AI ‘s funding structure emphasizes transparency, clearly communicated rules, and systematic risk controls. The platform highlights capital efficiency, drawdown management, and adherence to defined trading limits, aligning trader incentives with long-term sustainability rather than short-term outcomes.

According to the company, demand for structured capital solutions continues to grow as more independent traders seek disciplined pathways to funding. QuickFund AI maintains its focus on refining evaluation systems and operational controls to promote consistency and oversight.

By focusing on discipline and clearly defined capital parameters, QuickFund AI aims to contribute to the evolving landscape of proprietary trading models designed for modern market conditions.

To learn more about QuickFund’s structured capital evaluation framework and how independent traders can apply for funding, visit www.quickfund.ai

About QuickFund AI

QuickFund AI (Powered by TruTrade) is a proprietary funding platform that empowers traders with institutional-grade capital. Through TruTrade’s AI ecosystem, QuickFund AI enables users to scale their trading capabilities, manage risk with greater precision, and access funded accounts built for consistent, professional-level results.

BrandJet AI Launches Artemis MCP and Introduces Forward Deployed AE Role for AI-Driven GTM Teams 2974

BrandJet AI, a brand intelligence and outreach automation platform, today announced the launch of Artemis, a new Model Context Protocol (MCP) layer designed to help go-to-market (GTM) teams execute complex multi-step workflows using natural language prompts. The company also introduced a new commercial role, the Forward Deployed Account Executive (FDAE), created to support organizations adopting AI-native revenue operations.

The announcements reflect BrandJet AI’s continued focus on reducing fragmentation across sales, marketing, and revenue technology stacks by connecting intent detection and outreach execution within a single operating environment.

Addressing GTM Fragmentation

Revenue teams typically rely on multiple systems to monitor brand conversations, identify prospects, enrich contact data, sequence outreach, and track engagement. These processes often require manual coordination across platforms, creating delays between signal detection and commercial action.

Artemis is designed to streamline this workflow. Built on a Model Context Protocol architecture, it connects BrandJet AI’s monitoring, enrichment, sequencing, and performance-tracking capabilities into a unified prompt-driven layer.

Through Artemis, revenue operators can initiate structured workflows using natural language instructions. For example, a user may request the identification of professionals discussing specific topics across digital platforms within a defined timeframe, enrichment of those profiles, and the creation of an outreach sequence aligned to campaign goals. Artemis coordinates those tasks within the system, allowing teams to reduce operational handoffs.

According to BrandJet AI, the goal is not to replace strategic oversight but to simplify execution.

“Revenue teams spend too much time stitching together tools instead of acting on real buying signals,” said Nirav Shah, CEO of BrandJet AI. “Artemis helps unify intelligence and execution so teams can move from insight to outreach more efficiently.”

Prompt-Driven Workflow Orchestration

Artemis supports workflows that include:

  • Monitoring brand and competitor mentions across social platforms and the open web
  • Identifying potential prospects based on observable intent signals
  • Enriching lead data within the platform
  • Initiating multi-channel outreach across email and major social networks
  • Tracking engagement and campaign performance in real time

Rather than requiring operators to manually transfer data between systems, Artemis enables coordinated execution through a conversational interface layered on top of BrandJet AI’s infrastructure.

The system is designed to operate within compliance and governance standards established by customer organizations, maintaining human oversight over messaging and campaign parameters.

Introducing the Forward Deployed Account Executive

Alongside the Artemis launch, BrandJet AI announced the introduction of the Forward Deployed Account Executive (FDAE), a role intended to help enterprise customers integrate AI-driven workflows into their revenue operations.

As AI platforms become more advanced, organizations often encounter implementation gaps between technical capability and day-to-day usage. The FDAE model is structured to address that gap by embedding commercially accountable operators more deeply into customer environments.

Unlike traditional account executives who primarily focus on closing new business, or customer success managers who focus on support and retention, the FDAE combines revenue accountability with workflow strategy support. The role is designed to assist customers in mapping Artemis and broader BrandJet AI capabilities to their specific GTM structures.

“The technology layer is evolving quickly, but successful adoption depends on workflow design and operational alignment,” said Marsad Aurangzeb, Founder of BrandJet AI. “The Forward Deployed AE role is intended to help customers translate AI capabilities into measurable revenue outcomes.”

BrandJet AI plans to formalize the FDAE framework and publish additional details regarding the role’s structure and responsibilities in 2026.

Connecting Listening and Outreach

Historically, social listening and sales engagement technologies have evolved separately. Listening platforms track conversations, brand mentions, and sentiment across digital channels, while engagement platforms focus on outbound sequencing and pipeline development.

BrandJet AI’s platform integrates both functions, allowing teams to identify signals and initiate outreach within the same environment. With Artemis, those processes can now be coordinated through prompt-driven workflows.

For example, when a relevant public conversation surfaces online, such as a discussion about a specific technology category, hiring signals, or operational challenges, Artemis can help surface the signal, enrich the associated contact, and assist in preparing a tailored outreach campaign.

The objective is to reduce the time between observed intent and commercial response, while maintaining alignment with compliance and messaging standards.

Enterprise Implementation and Governance

BrandJet AI emphasizes that Artemis is built to operate within enterprise governance frameworks. Campaign parameters, messaging templates, and data usage policies remain configurable by customer teams.

As organizations expand AI adoption within revenue functions, governance considerations, including messaging accuracy, compliance adherence, and brand alignment, remain central. Artemis is positioned as an execution layer that operates within these controls rather than outside them.

The company states that ongoing enhancements are planned, including additional intent modeling refinements, deeper workflow customization, and validation loops that compare forecasted campaign outcomes with actual engagement performance over time.

Availability

Artemis MCP is available immediately to customers on BrandJet AI’s Growth and Enterprise plans. Availability for Starter plan users is expected in Q2 2026. Forward Deployed Account Executive engagements are currently offered on a limited basis for Enterprise customers.

Organizations interested in learning more may contact BrandJet AI directly for additional information.

About BrandJet AI

BrandJet AI is a brand intelligence and outreach automation platform designed for modern revenue teams. The platform enables organizations to monitor brand and competitor activity across digital channels, identify potential prospects based on social and behavioral signals, and execute multi-channel outreach campaigns within a unified interface. BrandJet AI serves growth-stage and enterprise organizations across SaaS, financial services, and professional services industries.

Taoshi Announces Vanta Trading, A New Decentralized Prop Trading Evaluation Platform 3208

Vanta Trading Offers Traders 100% Simulated Profit Payouts via the Blockchain, Greater Transparency and a Simplified Evaluation Challenge

Taoshi, a leader in decentralized finance on the Bittensor Network, today announced the launch of Vanta Trading, a prop trading firm powered by Bittensor Subnet 8, known as the Vanta Network.

Vanta Trading is a decentralized trader evaluation platform that identifies and scales top performers using transparent, rule-based blockchain infrastructure. All trading occurs in a simulated environment and does not involve customer funds or live market execution.

As of 2025, the proprietary trading industry is valued at $20 billion. However, some firms and models have been criticized for opaque rules, frequent rule changes, and economic structures that can disadvantage traders. Unlike most traditional firms, Vanta Trading utilizes decentralized infrastructure to offer transparency, with straightforward rules, verifiable payouts, and scaling opportunities.

“With many traditional prop trading firms, traders often cite limited visibility around rules, evaluations, and payouts. In some cases, firms may modify conditions or delay payouts in ways that are difficult for traders to independently verify, creating uncertainty and misaligned incentives,” said Arrash Yasavolian, founder and CEO of Vanta Trading. “Vanta Trading offers a more transparent alternative to traditional prop firm models for scaling serious traders, with verifiable performance records and payouts tracking through the blockchain, zero take fees, and a simple, one-step evaluation process.”

Vanta Trading offers traders:

  • 100% Profit Split: Eligible traders receive 100% of profits generated using their simulated funded account after passing the Vanta Evaluation, subject to program rules.
  • Simple Evaluation: One step challenge, 8% profit target, clear and transparent rules (many prop firms require two phases and have opaque rules, making it difficult to pass and receive a funded account).
  • Account Scaling Opportunities: Top performers are eligible for free, quarterly scaling opportunities where simulated account size can increase to up to $2.5 million.
  • Verifiable Payouts: By leveraging Vanta Network’s decentralized infrastructure, performance and payouts are verifiable and transparent through the blockchain.

Traders submit their signals through the Vanta Trading Desk, which are then scored and tracked on-chain through Vanta Network’s decentralized infrastructure. Payouts to traders are in USD via Stripe and verifiable through Vanta Network.

There are three tiers for traders:

  • Tier I – $25K account size for $199
  • Tier II – $50K account size for $349
  • Tier III – $100K account size for $549

Rules are consistent across all tiers. During the launch, pricing will be reduced to $149 / $249 / $349. Only funded traders with Tier III accounts will be eligible for scaling opportunities.

Qualified quantitative traders will be offered a free evaluation period, subject to their live trading track or backtesting records. The Vanta Network operates as the underlying engine for Vanta Trading, tracking and validating trader performance, with all records and payouts on the blockchain.

Vanta Trading is a technology platform designed to evaluate and scale trader performance in a simulated environment. It does not provide investment advice, does not execute trades on behalf of customers, and is not a registered broker, dealer, commodity trading advisor, or investment adviser.

About Taoshi

Founded in 2023, Taoshi, Inc. is a leading decentralized intelligence–driven trading technology company focused on expanding access to advanced systematic trading strategies through its transparent blockchain-based infrastructure and sophisticated quantitative research. Taoshi’s platform aggregates and evaluates investing strategies developed by a distributed network of finance-focused contributors, enabling adaptive portfolio construction based on real-time market conditions.

Taoshi’s team includes experienced machine learning thought leaders, data scientists, and quantitative trading professionals with backgrounds in building and operating large-scale trading systems. The company is developing an open, transparent trading ecosystem designed to serve both retail and institutional participants.

More information on Taoshi’s website at www.taoshi.io.

Mantle Unlocks Autonomous Economy with ERC-8004 Deployment 3734

Mantle, the high-performance distribution and liquidity layer for real-world assets, announced the official deployment of the ERC-8004 standard on mainnet. This milestone introduces a specialized trust and identity layer designed to transform AI agents from isolated scripts into sovereign economic participants capable of operating across RWAs, TradFi bridges, and DeFi.

The Trust Gap: Why AI Agents Were Problematic

Until now, on-chain AI agents have faced a “visibility crisis.” Despite their ability to execute code, agents remained invisible to the broader financial system. They lacked a way to build a reputation across different platforms, approve their historical performance, or be discovered outside of the specific ecosystem where they were created.

This gap has prevented autonomous agents from participating in high-stakes financial markets where verifiable records are non-negotiable.

ERC-8004: The Three Components of Agent Autonomy

By deploying ERC-8004, Mantle provides the foundational infrastructure for a trustless “Internet of Agents.” The standard introduces three critical on-chain registries:

  • Identity Registry: Provides a verifiable, NFT-based on-chain identity for every agent, making them discoverable and unique.
  • Reputation Registry: Establishes a portable track record. An agent’s “credit score” or performance history now follows it across platforms, ending the need to start from zero.
  • Validation Registry: Offers cryptographic proof of work completed, allowing agents to verify the accuracy of each other’s outputs through stake-secured or ZK-based mechanisms.

“At Mantle, we are building the liquid layer for the future of finance, where RWAs and DeFi converge.” said by Joshua Cheong, Head of Product at Mantle. “By bringing ERC-8004 to our ecosystem, we are providing AI agents with the ‘credentials’ they need to manage real capital. This isn’t just about automation; it’s about creating a verifiable workforce that can navigate compliance, liquidity, and settlement at scale.”

Bridging the Gap in TradFi and RWAs with ERC-8004

On Mantle, where institutional-grade assets flow seamlessly, these agents serve as the “connective tissue.” With ERC-8004, agents can now discover one another, verify credentials, and transact autonomously without being locked into a single platform. This enables three primary categories of autonomous building:

  1. Financial Strategy Agents: Executing complex yield or trading strategies with a performance history that anyone can audit.
  2. RWA Coordination Agents: Managing the heavy lifting of compliance, custody, and settlement for tokenized assets.
  3. Cross-Market Bridges: Bridging liquidity between traditional legacy systems and on-chain protocols by acting as verifiable intermediaries.

A Unified Ecosystem Is Now Powered by Mantle

ERC-8004 is designed to be backwards-compatible and works in tandem with the protocols agents already use, including the Model Context Protocol (MCP), Agent-to-Agent (A2A) communication, and the x402 payment standard.

By combining these communication and payment standards with Mantle’s massive distribution layer and $4B+ treasury, the network is uniquely positioned to lead the “DeFAI” (Decentralized AI Finance) revolution.

Ethereum is the settlement layer for AI, and with ERC-8004, the future of autonomous finance is officially live on Mantle.

About Mantle

Mantle positions itself as the premier distribution layer and gateway for institutions and TradFi to connect with on-chain liquidity and access real-world assets, powering how real-world finance flows.

With over $4B+ in community-owned assets, Mantle combines credibility, liquidity and scalability with institutional-grade infrastructure to support large-scale adoption. The ecosystem is anchored by $MNT within Bybit, and built out through core ecosystem projects like mETH, fBTC, MI4 and more. This is complemented by Mantle Network’s partnerships with leading issuers and protocols such as Ethena USDe, Ondo USDY, and OP-Succinct.

For more information about Mantle, please visit: mantle.xyz